Here Maps, the mapping service that Nokia touted as an alternative to Apple’s first ill-starred iOS Maps app, is gone from the App Store today, and evidently iOS 7 is the reason.
“We have made the decision to remove our Here Maps app from the Apple App Store because recent changes to iOS 7 harm the user experience,” Nokia said in a statement. “iPhone users can continue to use the mobile Web version of Here Maps under m.here.com, offering them core location needs, such as search, routing, orientation, transit information, and more, all completely free of charge.”
It’s not clear how, exactly, iOS 7 harmed the Here Maps experience, though some report that the app became quite buggy with the advent of Apple’s latest mobile OS.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
UPDATE: In an additional statement given to CNET, Nokia clarified that it wasn’t iOS 7 that undermined Here’s user experience, but it’s own failure to optimize for it. “We don’t want to blame Apple or iOS 7 — the app simply was not optimized for iOS 7 so we decided to remove it,” a Nokia spokeswoman told CNET.
