Nokia Here Maps for iOS Now Available for Download

Nokia back in December promised that its Here maps app will be released for iOS platform in early 2015 and finally the app is now available to download from the App Store. The Here app for iOS is compatible with iPhone 4 and above, and requires the device to be running iOS 7 and above.

The company announced the news on Wednesday and stressed the offline functionality of Here maps. "The offline car navigation on Here for iOS provides full turn-by-turn voice guidance with spoken street names," wrote the company on its official Here blog.

It's worth noting that Nokia back in 2013 pulled the Here Maps from the App store citing iOS 7 as the reason, claiming that it harmed the 'user experience'. The company on its blog claimed that the Here maps app for iOS has been built from scratch and features new tools. It said, "Here for iOS is a completely different app from the one previously available on the App Store - because the old version was based on HTML5, it had limited features and it wasn't optimised for iOS. This time we're introducing an experience built for iOS from the ground up with the features and the polished feel that people rightly expect from their favourite map app."

The Here maps for iOS offers features such as downloadable maps of 150 countries with offline use; voice-guided turn-by-turn drive or pedestrian navigation for 118 countries (with or without an Internet connection); public transit routing for more than 950 cities in over 50 countries (also available offline), and real-time traffic details for more than 40 countries (including France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States).

With the launch of Here maps for iOS, Nokia's map is now available on all major platforms including Android and Windows Phone. Nokia's Here maps in beta mode was launched for Android in December and was compatible with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and above.

Commenting on the announcement, Sean Fernback, President of Here, said, "We want to bring our maps and services to as many people as possible, no matter whether they are in the car or using a smartphone or smartwatch. Bringing the Here experience to iOS is a natural step for us as we now extend our reach to all major mobile platforms."