Apple Maps May Soon Go Cross-Platform, Reveals Company Job Listing

It appears Apple is set to bring Apple Maps to other platforms than its own, if new job listing on the Cupertino giant's website is any indication.

A new job listing on Apple's website has been spotted for a Maps JavaScript Engineer, whose role will be "to help make maps work seamlessly on the Web." The listing indicates the tech giant is planning to introduce a Web-based Maps service for users apart from those who are already on iOS or OS X. This listing was first noticed by Benedict Evans on Twitter.

The position is full-time and based at Apple's Cupertino headquarters. It requires for the job applicant to have a deep knowledge of JavaScript, a language used extensively to create Web-based services. Apple specifies the candidate must also have a solid understanding of HTML and CSS as well. Apple wants the candidate to have a proven track record of providing clients with excellent Web applications, apart from strong debugging and diagnostic skills.

Apple Maps is currently available only on iPhone and iPad devices running iOS 6 and above. It is also available on the Apple OS X platform starting from OS X Mavericks and newer. If there is ever an Apple Maps-based Web service, it would practically be available for all the other users, including Windows. A Web link for Apple's mapping service already exists in the form of maps.apple.com but it currently doesn't do much apart from sharing Maps data between OS X Mavericks and iOS. This move could prove to be interesting because Apple already offers its iWork productivity suite in cross-platform browser-based forms.

It is being speculated at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next week, Apple is expected to showcase a major update to Apple Maps for iOS and OS X, with new features like public transportation, and indoor location tracking, apart from detailed Flyover street view. This might be effective initially only in the US because supposedly vans are logging all the information in at the moment.