The Google Maps SDK for iOS has received a nice little update today, adding support for ground overlays for maps, gesture controls and geodesic polylines, whatever those are. Just kidding, it’s those lines you see in the Indiana Jones movies that show the heroes traveling from one place to another.
The updated stuff can be found in the Google API Console. Google’s Mano Marks and Paul Saxman demonstrate the new features in a video. In the introduction of the video, they announce that keys for the Google Maps SDK are now available to all via the Console. Previously, you had to register and wait for access.
There’s also a new sample app that allows developers to get the hang of using Google maps in their apps. It features the various tools that Google offers for its maps on iOS including various data sets, overlays, 3D views and more.
Google introduced the Maps SDK for iOS at the same time as the Google Maps app. The SDK was initially limited but has now been opened back up. When iOS 6 was launched, the default hooks were kept the same, essentially converting any app that was using Google Maps tiles over to Apple’s mapping solution. Adding Google Maps back was a matter of taking advantage of Google’s SDK to re-implement their tiles and engine.
Google, of course, was best served by making a robust SDK available as soon as possible. And now it’s building it out with some features that the web version of Maps has had for a while, and others, like gestures, that are specific to iDevices.
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