Google’s mobile maps product saw its market share in China decline by close to 50 percent in the third quarter due to Apple switching to its own maps product for its iOS 6 upgrade, according to a Beijing-based research firm — as reported by the “IDG News Service” (http://macte.ch/9St40).

At the end of the third quarter, the company’s market share fell to 9%, making it the sixth largest vendor in China’s mobile maps sector, according to Analysys International. It the previous quarter Google’s market share was 17.5%.

The dips is mainly due to the Apple Maps app introduced in iOS 6, according to Yi Jingxue, an analyst with Analysys International. With its introduction Apple ditched Google Maps.