Apple’s iOS 6 Maps May Make Move To OS X Mountain Lion
by Brent Dirks
July 9, 2012
Snippets of code in the beta version of iOS 6 suggests that Apple's new mapping technology might be migrating to the Mac in the near future, according to Technically Personal.
While examining one of the XML files of the new app, developer Cody Cooper found some interesting bits of information:
In this XML file, there is a reference to a set of Intel based graphics chipsets for which certain features like Shading are disabled. Cody says that older Intel chipsets are known to not support shading very well, and that’s probably why Apple wants to disable that feature on these Macs or will be software rendered. It is interesting to note that there is no reference to ATI Radeon chipsets in the list above. Though we don’t know the exact reason, it is probably because they are proper graphics cards that can support shaders.After relying on Google for map information since the first iPhone appeared in 2007, Apple announced its own, in-house Maps app at WWDC in June. Along with the long-requested turn-by-turn navigation feature, the app features 3-D flyovers of selected cities and Yelp integration. The new iOS version is expected to be officially released sometime this fall. Our own Robin Rhys dedicated an entire episode of AppAdvice Daily to showing off the new app’s features. The next version of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system, Mountain Lion, will be released later this month. If the new mapping technology does appear in version 10.8 of OS X, it isn’t the first feature of iOS that has migrated to the OS X platform. Features that iOS users have been leveraging for sometime, like Messages and Game Center, are set to appear in the new desktop operating system. While I haven't been as fortunate as some of my colleagues to see the Maps app in iOS 6 work first hand, it just makes sense that Apple would want to bring its technology to OS X. Source: Technically Personal Via: MacRumors
