Google putting 'finishing touches' on its own iOS maps app

Google has reportedly begun testing its own mapping application for iOS among outside users, further supporting rumors the company plans to submit it to the App Store in the near future. The Wall Street Journal cites unnamed sources that claim Google is in the process of putting "finishing touches" on the app before submitting it for approval through Apple. Not only will the app use Google's own data—like the default Maps app under iOS 5 and earlier—it's also said to include turn-by-turn navigation. That feature was not previously available under Apple and Google's partnership.

Google stated in September—just after the release of iOS 6, with Apple's own version of Maps—that it had no plans to release its own mapping app "yet." Soon thereafter, sources claimed a Google Maps app was in the works and would hit the App Store before the end of 2012. Sources later stated Google was "not optimistic" that Apple would approve such an app, but it appears the company is forging ahead anyway.