Will Voice Guided Turn-by-Turn GPS Directions Be Coming to iOS 6?

With rumors that Apple may be ditching Google as far as the Maps app on iOS is concerned, there is now speculation that the move may also bring native voice guided turn-by-turn GPS instructions to the Maps app for the first time on Apple’s mobile iOS platform. According to a report on the Wall Street Journal, Apple may have gotten the short end of the stick with its deal with Google.

The WSJ is reporting that Google had delayed bringing Google Street View to iOS and that it has intentionally withheld Google Maps with Navigation from iOS and has reserved the feature, currently still in beta, for its own Android platform.

Apple has over the years acquired various location and mapping companies, such as Placebase in 2009, and also Poly9 and C3 Technologies. These efforts have led Apple to show off the beginning of its shift away from Google most recently in the debut of the iPhoto app for iOS, which does not rely on Google Maps data unlike the Mac OS X version of the software.

Now, Apple’s shift away from Google may expand just a little bit further and the companies may part ways with an iOS 6 Maps app that’s redesigned from the ground up. Sources believe that the results could be debuted as early as this month at Apple’s WWDC developer conference.

Speculated new features for the GPS app include voice guided turn-by-turn driving instructions with intelligent and deep iOS integration. For instance, if you have programmed into your calendar that you need to be at WWDC in San Francisco on a certain date, then the Maps app may warn you if there is a traffic jam or road blocks along the way before you begin your trip.

To date, users who want turn-by-turn guided instructions either have to rely on free apps, subscription services, or downloadable onboard packages for a fee. Some of the more popular apps include Waze, TeleNav, Navigon, TomTom and CoPilot for iOS.

After Maps, perhaps the next battle may be the YouTube app?