Google’s Jeff Huber announced today on his Google+ page that the Google Maps app released for iPhone just a few days ago received over 10 million downloads in the first 48 hours of availability in the App Store.
“We’re excited for the positive reception of Google Maps for iPhone around the world,” he writes. “Congratulations to the Maps Team on the recognition for the passion and hard work they poured into it, for this release and over the last 7+ years.”
A Maps app from Google has been anticipated ever since the release of iOS 6, when Apple started shipping its own self-developed Maps app, replacing Google’s mapping services from the OS once and for all. It was met with much negative criticism after people around the world found several errors in the maps; some have even gotten lost using the new Maps app’s turn-by-turn directions.
10 million downloads in 48 hours clearly means iOS users wanted a viable alternative. Google Maps for iOS has been mostly praised for its simplistic design and most of all, its unparalleled mapping data.
If you have yet to download the Google Maps app for iPhone and iPod touch, you can visit the App Store. It’s free, and it’s very likely that you’ll end up putting it to good use.