Apple is removing the last remnant of Google Maps from its ecosystem

Two years after Apple replaced Google with its own Maps app in iOS 6, the last remnant of Google Maps in Apple’s ecosystem is getting the boot. Apple has begun switching to its own mapping service for the Find My iPhone web app on iCloud.com. The change isn’t visible for everyone yet, but it can be seen from the beta version of iCloud.com where Apple tests upcoming features. The iOS versions of Find My iPhone have been using Apple Maps since the original switch from Google. The web version has not until today, as noticed by iPhoneBlog.de. Apple pulls data from TomTom and other services to help create its maps, and the design of Apple Maps is noticeably different from Google’s.

Apple is beginning the transition to move its Maps application online starting with the Find My iPhone web app on its iCloud.com beta website, as noticed by iPhoneBlog.de. Though the public version of iCloud.com is still pulling data from Google Maps, beta.icloud.com now uses an online version of Apple maps for its location information. Apple has been slowly switching away from Google Maps after using the competing mapping service in the early versions of the iOS. The Cupertino company dropped support for the Google-based mapping solution and introduced Apple Maps as part of iOS 6 in 2012. While iCloud.com still remained tied to Google, iOS apps such as Find My iPhone andFind My Friends also were converted to Apple’s mapping data in the same year. After a highly-criticized launch, Apple has been making efforts to bolster its mapping data, recently improving its points of interest database as well as notifying users when reported problems had been fixed. Apple was said to be adding indoor mapping and other new features to Apple Maps in iOS 8, but internal politics and the departure of key employees may have delayed those plans.