Former Google (GOOG) CEO and current chairman Eric Schmidt on Tuesday confirmed to Reuters that the Internet giant has made no move to provide Google Maps app for the iPhone 5 or iOS 6. “We think it would have been better if they had kept ours. But what do I know?” Schmidt said to a small group of reporters in Tokyo. “What were we going to do, force them not to change their mind? It’s their call.” Apple (AAPL) dropped Google Maps from its latest operating system in favor of its own in-house program, however the Cupertino-based company has seen a tremendous amount of user backlash. Schmidt revealed that Google and Apple were in constant communication “at all kinds of levels,” although he noted that any decision to allow a Google Maps application in the App Store would have to be made by Apple. “We have not done anything yet,” he said.
What could be the next thing Apple strips from its platform? The executive hopes that Google will remain the default search engine on iOS, however he did not seem optimistic about the future. “I’m not doing any predictions,” he said. “We want them to be our partner. We welcome that. I’m not going to speculate at all what they’re going to do. They can answer that question as they see fit.”
Google provides Android free of charge to manufacturers and allows developers more freedom when creating apps for the platform. The Mountain View-based company makes nearly all of its mobile profits by providing users with search functions and selling advertising. Schmidt noted that “Apple is the exception, and the Android system is the common model, which is why our market share is so much higher.” He claimed Android’s success is often ignored by the media, however, which he said was “obsessed with Apple’s marketing events and Apple’s branding.”
“That’s great for Apple but the numbers are on our side,” Schmidt concluded.
