Google Maps became the top free app in the Apple App Store just a few hours after it was released late Wednesday. Now, we know just how popular the app has really been.
Jeff Huber, the SVP of geo and commerce at Google, revealed in a Google+ post that the company's new maps app for iOS was downloaded more than 10 million times in less than 48 hours after it was released.
"We're excited for the positive reception of Google Maps for iPhone around the world," Huber wrote in the post. "Congratulations to the Maps Team on the recognition for the passion and hard work they poured into it, for this release and over the last 7+ years."
Google's app brings back some of the functionality no longer found in the built-in maps software, which Apple replaced with its own data and services as part of iOS 6. That includes Google's Street View technology and public transit directions, while also adding new features like spoken turn-by-turn driving directions and vector-based map tiles.
To put the 10 million number in perspective: Apple in October said that more than 200 million users were running iOS 6, about half of the some 400 million iOS devices sold until that point. Users on iOS 5 and below continue to run Apple's mapping software that uses data from Google. Neither company has said just how long that functionality will continue.
Early reviews of the new Google Maps app have been incredibly positive with some top reviewers writing that it puts Apple's maps app to shame.
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