Developer in San Francisco posted the blurry screenshots on his blog, claiming they show the alpha version of Google Maps for iOS 6. Among the features he mentioned are two-finger rotation of the maps at any angle and support for the 4-inch screen of the iPhone 5.

The developer did not say how he obtained the screenshots, but claims the new app will be vector-based, which means that you won't see blurry images loading while you zoom in and out of maps. Google Maps on Android already uses this system, as does .

With the , Apple revamped its Maps app and built its own mapping engine with data from TomTom. In principle, the app was an improvement over the previous version, which had Google Maps at its core. The revamped application features vector maps for smoother scrolling and loading, as well as voice-assisted turn-by-turn directions--capabilities previously missing from iOS's built-in map offering.

However, shortly after launch, users found that the data in Apple's Maps app was lacking. It produced incorrect search results, erroneous street and city labels, and was missing locations. The of the maps even prompted an apology from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who that he is "extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers," and promised that Apple is "doing everything we can to make Maps better."