Nokia launches HERE maps on iOS devices

By Rich Edmonds
last updated

Nokia has launched its HERE maps for both the iPhone and iPad. The app enables directions for walking, but not for driving, and provides public transport information and guidance. Built on Nokia's strong NAVTEQ backend services means that Apple consumers will be able to search for locations accurately (see The Amazing iOS6 Maps for more giggles).

Before folk chime in with the usual, "oh dear, Nokia's cosying up to competitors", the manufacturer has released an app that's less feature rich than what's available on Windows Phone 8. Making use of HTML5, users can save maps locally, as well as group places into collections, but the experience doesn't match what we have to boot - check out our preview of Nokia Maps version 3.0 on Windows Phone 8 for more information. 

It's interesting to see the path Nokia is travelling down by releasing services on other platforms, but we'll have to see if the quality that's present in its map solution for iOS will match Windows Phone in the future. Microsoft is also supporting Apple's mobile platform with the release of its Xbox Live app, as well as SmartGlass to name but a few.

Source: iMore

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds is Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

56 Comments
  • My wife has the HTC 8x and can't get the Nokia maps. So Apple phone yes but rival windows phone no?
  • Nokia Maps is built in in Windows Phone 8, the default Maps app that is preinstalled is using Nokia maps. What you have only on Nokia devices, for the moment, is turn by turn navigation, that, according to the news, isn't available on iOS neither.
  • Sorry Nokia maps are NOT installed in other WP8 devices. I have an 8x and Bing is default. Nokia maps come later.
  • Bing Maps is powered by Nokia Maps. They share the same data. That's what he wqs getting at.
  • microsoft doesn't own maps. period. Bing maps = Navteq maps = Nokia maps. all you have in bing maps is a little refinement/screw up of nokia maps.
  • This isn't the same thing. Your wife has nothing to be jealous of. Unless she gets everywhere by walking.
  • Remember its only walking and transport...no driving so Apples version really isn't much
  • Speak for yourself. I'm 20, broke, and walk and take public transit everyyyyywhere. Actually I'm on bus going home from mall as we speak. >->
  • haha dude i feel your pain
  • Nokia Map is 'Nokia Exclusive App'
  • "to get the full version, please buy a Windows Phone 8"
  • Lol +1 :)
  • Ahhh that's so sweet. Nokia does exclusives with W8 and then gives stuff to IOS. Nokia is such a great company.
  • Sheesh, the articles states all the contrary to what you have written. Stay out of the internet please! Oh and turn off your modem as well :)
  • Ninja you funny. My modem might be slow but the picture looks great on my sharp 80" 3D LCD. Seriously though you need to remove your head from Nokia 's butt and see the light.
  • Learn to read
  • I'd be happy to send Nokia a few bucks to use their apps on my non-Nokia phone, if only they would release them to the rest of us. I showed City Lens on my daughter's Lumia 710 to my wife last night. "Guess who's gonna have to give up her phone when we need to hunt for a place to eat."
  • To be honest, city lens is the only Nokia exclusive that I would want. Tried some of their other apps & to be honest I didn't think they were all that great. I use Navigon & it's streets ahead of Drive+ (see what I did there)? This is my own opinion of course & others will probably disagree.
  • I agree that Navigon is better... But will give Nokia navigation a try and see how much they will improve.
  • So then it is good job for Navigon regarding the UI, as the map data they are using, comes from Nokia :)
  • What of this?
    http://winsupersite.com/windows-phone/why-nokia-here-iphone-better-windo...
  • The usual Thurrott drivel. Misinformed, speculative and biased.
  • Exactly this.
  • He's actually correct, so what's your point? He is comparing WP8 Maps on HTC 8X to Nokia HERE on iOS - and iOS app is much better.
  •   Misinformed; 'Nokia previously promised—way back in June—that it would be porting its excellent navigation app, Nokia Drive (which provides turn-by-turn functionality) to all Windows Phone 8 handsets.'   This is simply not the case, never promised, never announced as such. What was said was: 'Today, we are making Nokia Drive available to other Windows Phone 8 partners to offer a turn-by-turn navigation experience for people in over 110 countries.'     Speculative; 'I don’t begrudge Nokia trying to pull itself out of its death spiral, though I’m of course unclear how giving away its maps for free will achieve that.'   Which is marketing drivel by financial institutions having a stake in Nokia stock staying low and general uninformed statements by ignorant people without a clue. Nokia is hardly in a 'death spiral' They are actually making money, but investing heavily at the same time.     Biased; The article in general.
  • Er-r-r, there is no difference between two statements in 'misinformed'.
    And yes, speculative, as is all stuff on the Internet! He's allowed to speculate, you know. It's not a crime, even if he does it 'against' Nokia.
  • I visited his site for about a month back in 2010 when WP7 was first released; haven't been back since, and won't. 
  • You whiners. Nokia will update WP8's maps to HERE-maps soon enough. Nokia Drive will be available for other WP8-manufacturers as well, if they decide to use it. This has been clearly informed right from the beginning, by Nokia. (Not so sure about the different blogs...) So instead of bashing Nokia for making the best maps, you should go and complain to your manufacturer, that they are not using Nokia's navigation software, even though Nokia makes it available for them. It may cost something for the Asian heroes, but why should Nokia give it out for free? (No, don't be so naive and think, that Nokia gave the maps to iOS just for the fun of it)
  • No but the locked up exclusive apps because their butt holes and scared they can't compete in hardware alone.
  • You meant to say: Nokia is working hard with developers that would otherwise NOT be developing for Windows Phone if it wasn't for them. But yah, how dare they keep exclusives on Applications that they have made possible! Blasphemy!!!
  • No I said exactly what I meant. Nokia hasn't developed crap for EA. All Nokia has done is pay for the rights for certain exclusive games. Why would they do that? Probably because they know they can't go head to head on hardware. If Nokia would've spent the money on their phones and put a removable battery / sd slot. They wouldn't have to use gimmicks. They also should've put a higher capacity battery in the 920.
  • judging by the marketshare they have in the wp ecosystem i'd say they don't have to use gimmicks and are not afraid of the competition. And remember nothing is stopping htc or samsung to have exclusives of their own.
  • Well, the hardware for the Lumia 920 is pretty competitive, wouldn't you say?
     
    Exclusive apps?  It's Nokia's money, ergo, dibs on the apps; simply a service that Nokia is providing to its users.  Nothing stopping HTC/Samsung from doing to same.
  • Oh AMAZING!! iOS is still the spoiled child in tech , very nice, i am all for sharingthe experience EVERYWHERE as well but can we first focus on our own platforms? Lumia users in WP7 don't even have offline support , and from what i hear NOKIA MAPS in WP8 is not as good. Well good going Nokia. Disregard your priorities to do work somewhere else. My next phone will probably an HTC and i have one less reason to reccomend a Lumia , since maps is now on the Iphone
  • "Lumia users in WP7 don't even have offline support".
     
    Have you owned Lumia WP7.5 device (e.g. Lumia 610, 710, 800, 900)? I have 800 and it supports offline navigation (turn by turn). If you don't know about something then keep quiet or you loose your credibility. If you like HTC device, no one is stopping you to continue to use that but stop talking about something that you don't know.
  • It's amazing how people can become hostile behind a screen .
    Okay , im going to repeat what i said before .
    Nokia maps and Nokia DRIVE are two different applications.
    Nokia DRIVE is geared towards GPS navigation in cars for CARS , yes that app does have offline support.
    Nokia MAPS however is different , it's an all in one sort-of-speak mapping app that includes car , public and walking directions , and NO THAT APP DOES NOT HAVE OFFLINE SUPPORT FOR WP7 USERS.
     
    Do we understand this now? As far as ur assumption about me "liking" HTC or not , i don't know nor care where that came from. I am a lumia 900 user that is pointing out where Nokia maps needs to add support at.
  • I'm confused now. Is Nokia Maps available on the HTC 8X? How about Nokia Drive? There have been conflicting reports. 
    I tried both phones out at a Microsoft store (First international location!) and I have to say, the feel of the HTC device is much nicer than the Nokia. That said, those exclusive apps are too nice to pass up. Anyone have a definite answer?
  • Just like I been saying all along. Nokia can't compete with hardware so they use gimmicks like exclusive apps.
  • They (Nokia) invest billions of dollars in to the platform and their in-house developed apps, and you want them to give everything for the Asian cartell for free? Stop dreaming. They are already trying to steal the other IPR (therefore they are always in the court room), don't try to pretend that they should get all the software from Nokia for free as well.
  • Sounds like you resent Nokia for catering to their userbase.
  • Someone is mad not getting all these nice apps. HTC can neither make better phones nor bring better apps. But please keep buying HTC devices so Nokia phones don't become too expensive.
  • Please, read this to get an answer for your "HTC or Nokia" - question:
    http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/11/13/here-the-next-generation-of-lo... Of course, the best experience is, and will be, on a Lumia device. It would be foolish to think otherwise.
  • Unfortunately, other than clarifying that HERE will be made available to iOS, that blog post really doesn't clarify anything. 
  • Hmm, sorry, you are right. That was a wrong link. Please, try this instead, it is quite a good Q&A article regarding this topic:
    http://mynokiablog.com/2012/11/14/exclusive-qa-with-nokias-mapping-team-...
  • Nokia is on its way to be part of msft!! We all know that hardware and services!! Stop complaining..
  • This was actually my thought as well.
  • Funny, people complaining about Nokia when Microsoft is doing the exact same thing with ALL WP services - Xbox Live, bing, Halo Waypoint, Smartglass (which btw doesnt work with Halo 4 on WP but does on android) and soon office and sharepoint. If you want to moan about anything moan about MS themselves not supporting their own mobile OS.
  • MS is supporting WP8
  • You've got to remember that Windows Phone isn't the centre of the universe. Microsoft is a software and services company at heart, which means they need to get their products into as many hands as possible. Why shouldn't they launch such services on competitor platforms if it means they have more users in total with solutions available? It's similar to an Apple consumer complaining that iTunes is available for Windows.
  • Thats my point. Nokia has software services, mapping they can provide to users not on WP, so thats why I say no one should be complaining about Nokia releasing this app for ios. The difference is you will undoubtedly get the best mapping experience with a Nokia device, with MS its not always the case that WP gives the best MS software/service experience.
  • Came here to mention this, glad there are some people out there that understand this. Besides, if MS doesn't keep it's own services on their own platform, why should Nokia?
  • Cool. I'd actually be ok with them releasing the full app for ios and charging for it. People will always buy iPhones, why not a get a separate revenue stream to help support yourselves especially when ios maps is so bad right now. They could also test things out on the ios side, if works right implement them on WP. It might even convince some to switch to WP in the long run. Plus good for nok stock.
  • Rich, I think "accurately" should be highlighted/bold here. Hahaha! I remember how a Nokia Exec poked on iMaps during //build2012. Hahaha :D
  • Just used it on my iPad. Gotta say its much better than apple's own mapping service.
    Still its heartening to see that my lumia 800 is still the better one, when comparing with Nokia here.
  • I wouldn't care one way or the other if MS hadn't touted the new improved mapping experience when they first announced WP8 and then instead made it worse. Offline maps are cool, but kind of pointless when you completely remove turn by turn, instead of making it better like the announcement made it sound like. The directions the map app gives now don't even follow your progress anymore. So much for the new better mapping partnership with Nokia.
  • You know what's really hot is AOL's Entrance. I'm listening to a classic rock station in the San Francisco area, mush better than Slacker Radio. Speaking of maps, who cares, I have Thomas Guide....LOL. Nokia Lumia 900 cyan owner.