• Bloomberg, Monday, June 25, 2012 10:47 AM

Have you heard about Apple’s forthcoming iPhone map application? Well, it will reportedly include Yelp’s “check-in” feature, which will let users broadcast their current locations to friends. Apple Maps is set to replace Google as the default location service, and debut later this year. According to materials that Apple distributed to software developers, it will also allow users to communicate through Yelp without exiting the app.

“The Apple developer kit, which was given to programmers earlier this month and examined by Bloomberg, includes screen shots of Yelp check-ins within Apple Maps,” Bloomberg News reports. “Integration with Apple Maps may help Yelp challenge Foursquare Labs Inc. and Facebook, two leading providers of check-in services.”

Yelp debuted its check-in service for mobile phones in 2010 in an effort to help local merchants build loyalty with regular customers. Popularized by foursquare and other services, check-ins are used by 18% of adult smartphone owners, Bloomberg notes, citing recent Pew Research Center findings.

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