HERE Maps, a long time staple of Windows smartphones, will stop working on Windows 10 Mobile devices on June 30, 2016. HERE made the announcement in a blog post and in essence indicated that the move was a business decision due to the evolving smartphone market and its support for “new operating systems” (read Android and iOS). HERE was previously owned by Nokia, but was sold to a consortium which includes Audi, BMW, and Daimler. HERE has recently launched HERE Maps for Android and iOS devices.
Although the essence of the HERE apps lives on in the Windows Maps app, we are removing the HERE branded apps from the Windows 10 store on March 29, 2016 and will limit the development of the apps for Windows Phone 8 to critical bug fixes.
The company went on to say that while HERE Maps currently works on Windows 10 Mobile devices, it was essentially a hack of the existing app.
In the last few months, we made the HERE apps compatible with Windows 10 by using a workaround that will no longer be effective after June 30, 2016. To continue offering the HERE apps for Windows 10 would require us to redevelop the apps from the ground up, a scenario that led to the business decision to remove our apps from the Windows 10 store.
Because HERE Maps is deeply integrated in Windows Phone 8, the apps will continue to work on that version of the Windows Mobile operating system, however there will be no new features developed and updates will be limited to security updates. In addition, maps developed specifically for Windows Phone will also not be updated — which makes one wonder how long maps in the app will continue to be accurate on Windows Phone 8.
HERE recommends using the Windows Maps app on Windows 10 Mobile, stating that it contains many of the same elements and assets as the HERE Maps app.
Are you using HERE Maps on your Windows 10 Mobile device? Are you sad to see it go? Let us know in the comments below, or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
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