Apple is readying an upgraded version of its iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Maps application for the next major release of iOS in an effort to battle Google for mobile maps supremacy, according to sources briefed on the plans. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Senior Vice Presidents Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi, and Maps head Patrice Gautier are using the new app to move toward fulfilling a promise to users that the iOS Maps application will eventually live up to the “incredibly high standard” of Apple’s customers. Apple dropped support for Google’s mapping database in late 2012 and released its in-house Maps app with iOS 6. While the new application added extravagant three-dimensional imagery and a smoother interface, the software was riddled with bugs, unreliable data, and lacked many of the critical mobile mapping features found in the Google Maps app.