It turns out Apple Maps-gate might not have been such a surprise after all, with several developers coming forward and claiming to have informed the Cupertino outfit of the issues that have blighted the launch of the Apple Maps app. 

Since the arrival of Apple Maps on iOS 6, users have complained of addresses being shown in the wrong location and satellite views being obscured by clouds. So serious was the issue that Tim Cook was forced to come out and publicly apologise.

However, it seems Apple’s CEO had a few months to prepare his apology, with developers given an early version of Apple Maps informing CNET that they had warned Apple of the problems as long ago as early June. 

"I posted at least one doomsayer rant after each (developer) beta, and I wasn't alone," said one anonymous developer.

"The mood amongst the developers seemed to be that the maps were so shockingly bad that reporting individual problems was futile. What was needed wasn't so much an interface for reporting a single point as incorrect, but for selecting an entire region and saying, 'all of this -- it's wrong'."

Apple announced its own version of Apple Maps when it unveiled its new iOS 6 platform in June. It was the first time the company had used its own mapping solution on iOS, having previously opted for Google Maps.

Google itself is rumoured to have a Google Maps app available for iOS 6, though Google Exec Eric Schmidt has denied this and even if this were the case it would rely on Apple giving it the green light.

As for Apple Maps, as Tim Cook said, the service does appear to be improving with time and more people using it. 

Still, if these accusations are true, then Apple could have perhaps saved itself an altogether embarrassing affair.