The heart of the issue seems to be that Google and Apple could not agree on licensing terms, which is why Youtube also disappeared. It is impossible for outside

The heart of the issue seems to be that Google and Apple could not agree on licensing terms, which is why Youtube also disappeared. It is impossible for outsiders to say why the deals broke down, but it remains that Apple was left scrambling to provide some kind of solution. The only real alternative to this Maps release would have been to have no Maps app at all.