If you've ever lived in an urban jungle, chances are, you've experienced either missing the bus, getting late for work, or getting stuck in a traffic jam. Many city dwellers depend on public transit and mapping direction services to help save the day. So did HopStop announce on its website that it will no longer be available come October?
HopStop was acquired by Apple in July 2013, for what is thought to be $1 billion, one month after Google confirmed its own acquisition of Waze. Now, two years after the deal, Apple will shut down HopStop's services completely, most probably as a bid to focus on its own Maps app.
It can be noted that in Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June, when the company introduced iOS 9, it also revealed the new feature of Apple Maps: transit directions and full-featured transit maps, much like that of Google Maps.
Two years ago, then new Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted to coming second place with regards to its mapping services. He issued this apology in 2013, "At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better."
Now, the race is on between Apple and Google. Apple has been investing in mapping services and integrating them into their wide array of products--from the iPhone to the iPad and Apple Watch. Earlier this year, it acquired Bay Area neighbor Coherent Navigation. In June, Apple also confirmed that it had dispatched its own fleet of sensor-laden cars "to collect data which will be used to improve Apple Maps."
