CUPERTINO, May 13 — Apple could drop the Google Maps program which has been running on iOS since 2007 in favour of an in-house mapping system which will debut on iOS 6 according to rumours which hit the net on May 11.

According to 9to5mac.com, Apple's ability to produce an in-house mapping application is due to its acquisition of Placebase, C3 Technologies and Poly9.

According to 9to5mac, who attribute this news to ‘trusted sources', Apple's own mapping application will appear on iOS 6 and is described as a "much cleaner, faster and more reliable experience [than Google Maps]".

Google's famous ‘Street View' feature is also expected to be replicated in-house by the Apple-acquired C3 Technologies which creates 3D maps using "previously classified image processing technology."

The rumour of Apple's new mapping service was also covered by cnetfrance.fr and theverge.com among others.

iOS 6 is expected to be announced in June at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference. — Reuters