Google Maps Hits iOS (To SOS)

Its baaack: Google Maps for iOS is back to save iOS users. From Apple Maps.

After the colossal failure to launch that was Apple Maps, Google Maps for iOS has re-entered the eco system to save native users from the dodgy directions their iPhone app was spitting out at them.

Google standalone Maps for iOS is now officially live and kicking in Apple Apps Store, it has been confirmed, after weeks of speculaiton.

Just this week, Aussie police warned Victorians not to use Apple Maps after a number of drivers have been wrongly routed to the Murray-Sunset National Park, where there is no access to water and temperatures reach as high as 46 degrees.

The new Google Maps for iOS offers “a number of enhancements beyond what was offered when it powered the built-in Maps app on iOS 5 and earlier, most notably turn-by-turn directions” reports Macrumours.

Apple booted Google off its iOS platform earlier this year, when it released iOS 6, replacing it with its own Apple Maps app.

“The app shows more map on screen and turns mobile mapping into one intuitive experience. It’s a sharper looking, vector-based map that loads quickly and provides smooth tilting and rotating of 2D and 3D views,” writes Daniel Graf, Director, Google Maps for Mobile on a blog.

Google’s Graf also says the new Maps app for iOS is on the ball and updated daily to keep it “accurate and comprehensive.” Ouch, Apple.

“The world around us is constantly changing and, thanks to feedback from you, we make tens of thousands of daily updates to keep Google Maps accurate and comprehensive.”

The app is being rated 4.5 by Apple user reviews.

“There’s a place for everything, and now, everything’s in its CORRECT place.Thank you, Google. Never using Apple Maps again,” one user wrote.

Another cheeky Aussie said: “I can travel to mildura without almost dying.”