Apple iOS 6 Maps help could come from Foursquare

Rumor has it Apple is in talks with location-based social network Foursquare to boost its lackluster iOS 6 Maps offerings.

According a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday, Apple is looking to share in Foursquare's map data, which could be used to integrate Foursquare users' tips and ratings directly into Apple's iOS 6 Maps.

Adding Foursquare's map data to iOS 6 Maps could potentially improve the app's ability to locate businesses and other points of interest, which did not live up to the standards set by Google Maps in earlier iOS versions.

Tuesday's report claimed that Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue has spent the last few weeks meeting with Foursquare representatives, though nothing is concrete yet.

Fixing Apple's "maptastrophe"

TechRadar has reached out to Apple and Foursquare to find out if the two companies have anything to share, though at this stage that's unlikely.

Previous versions of Apple's iOS operating system used Google Maps, but Apple ditched Google in favor of its own, internal solution with the launch of iOS 6.

That didn't go over so well, though, with users complaining of inaccurate and incomplete data in Apple's maps.

Apple has been playing catch-up ever since, reportedly poaching Google Maps makers to fix its own app and issuing apologies straight from the mouth of CEO Tim Cook.

The Wall Street Journal's report claims that Apple is in talks with other companies in addition to Foursquare to help improve iOS 6 Maps.

Google delivers

Google, meanwhile, responded last week with its own iOS 6 Maps app, which brought back many of the features - local transit, Street View, etc. - that iOS 6 users had been missing.

And iOS 6 users turned up in droves to download the replacement Maps app; Google announced today that Google Maps for iOS 6 was downloaded 10 million times in the first 48 hours.

Now if only Apple would allow iOS 6 users to delete its in-house Maps app from their devices, everything could go back to normal.