>>>Additionally, all the work to produce a new Goggle Maps Navigation+Earth for iOS would need to be paid for by ads (just like Google's free Chrome browser or

>>>Additionally, all the work to produce a new Goggle Maps Navigation+Earth for iOS would need to be paid for by ads (just like Google's free Chrome browser or YouTube app for iOS), because few iOS users would be likely to pay anything substantial to replace Apple's own Maps with Google's version. In contrast, Apple's software development is funded through profitable hardware sales. Now this is just goofy. Google doesn't have ads in chrome. It is a loss leader used to propel web related research forward. Youtube does have ads, but mostly to cover bandwidth costs, and has never turned a profit. Google could easily release an app without any form of profit just to retain user share.