iOS developer cleverly adds Street View app as a routing source for iOS 6 Maps

Recently launched on the App Store, a 99-cent app from developers FutureTap called simply “Street View” will allow users to quickly access Google Street View from seemingly within the stock iOS 6 Maps app.

When Apple first launched its new Maps app with iOS 6, one of the features many users missed was Street View’s 360-degree panoramas made popular by Google Maps. Things got a little better with the introduction of the Google Maps iOS app months later, but there are still a few reasons why many have not completely migrated away from Apple’s stock Maps app.

The biggest (at least for non-jailbroken users) is the inability to use third-party apps as the default mapping application. That means when tapping links for addresses or using Siri, for example, Apple will still default to its stock iOS 6 Maps app. Thankfully, with the 99-cent Street View app, you can continue using Maps and still be able to quickly pull up Street View without ever feeling like you’ve left the app.

Here’s how it works:

Apple’s Maps app allows users to install third-party apps as “routing sources.” When a user searches for transit directions within the Maps app (something it doesn’t actually provide), they can tap one of the sources to be redirected to a third-party app for the directions. FutureTap has cleverly taken advantage of this feature to display a Street View image and not directions. The result is a quick way to get access to Street View and jump back to Maps (as pictured above).

The app also interfaces in a similar way with the developers popular Where To? maps app for iOS.

Street View is available for 99 cents on the App Store now.