Google releases Maps app for iOS, did they do the right thing?

This morning brought great news for Apple users as they finally have a Maps app that just might work. Google came through and bailed out Apple with the release of the Google Maps app in the Apple app store last night. When this whole fiasco happened, I thought that Google shouldn’t bother developing an app. If Apple wanted to denounce Google, then let them wallow in their own mistakes. Furthermore, since Google wants to promote Android, wouldn’t they just keep it to Android to make it that much more appealing to iOS users?

Unfortunately that really isn’t the correct way of thinking since iOS is a revenue source for Google. Apple and Google might be major competitors, but they are two entirely different companies. You won’t find Apple-made apps in the Google Play Store because Apple has nothing to gain, but since Google derives revenues from ads and clicks, they have everything to gain by making their products available to the competition. In the past we reported that a lot of Google’s mobile revenues actually come from iOS devices, so why should Google shun that? It’s easy for me to say don’t do it, but it just didn’t make business sense for Google to ignore the situation. So iOS users now have a better experience thanks to Google. Maybe they will remember that the next time they buy a new phone. Probably not.