[rit]

Apple has blocked things like "Google Voice" in the past claiming it duplicates existing functionality in the phone.

I suspect (And this is entirely speculation on my part) that if iOS Maps had not been under such a cloud of scrutiny since it launched, we might not have seen Google Maps.

With so many having major issues with iOS Maps, and Apple needing to do a lot of catch up, being seen to block a reasonable solution would be very, very bad. Especially the same week as the well publicized "Sending people into the middle of the Australian outback with no mobile reception instead of the city they put in" news on iOS Maps.

Not trying to sound conspiracy theorist here, but observing past behaviours and the likely influence of current demands.