Overture has just released its first open map dataset that should help third-party devs create mapping apps to challenge Google and Apple.

Overture Maps was originally announced in late 2022, with Google’s biggest competitors on board. Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, TomTom and more mapping specialists have teamed up to create the project.

The idea behind the Overture Map Foundation is to make it both easier and cheaper for developers to make apps. For context, developers have to pay to access Google Maps’ API.

Google has released three Google Maps application programming interfaces (APIs) for developers to map solar potential, air quality and pollen levels.

Always open Currently, Apple charges developers for its MapKit access when building non-native apps and Google charges for its maps API after a free 28,500 maploads per month.

Google launched its latest sustainability tool, a series of environmental geospatial APIs that help cities, businesses, and other partners map solar, air quality, and pollen data worldwide.