No Apple/Waze deal happening after all

waze

Yesterday, news broke that Apple was looking into buying Israeli start-up Waze Mobile, creators of the popular GPS app. Obviously, with all of the trouble Apple’s had with its own mapping software, and the fact that the two companies are partners, the deal made sense.

But according to a new report today from the well-connected MG Siegler, there is no deal. The TechCrunch columnist wrote this morning that though there have likely been several meetings between Apple and Waze due to their partnership, there’s nothing more going on…

From Siegler’s report:

“But there’s just one little problem: the deal isn’t actually happening.

That information comes from multiple sources close to the situation. And while Mike Butcher also claimed multiple sources in his original post, you’ll note that he was quick to qualify the information as a “rumor” (or in British parlance — Mike is English — a “rumour”). Because that’s exactly what it was. This isn’t a rumor (of a non-deal). There is no deal is happening. At least not now or anytime soon.”

The article goes on to note that it’s quite possible that Apple and Waze have had low-level discussions about some sort of bigger deal, or even a possible acquisition. But such conversations happen all the time between companies, and typically end with a “thanks for coming in.”

Apple has been rumored to have acquired, or have been interested in acquiring, several companies over the past year. There was web app firm Particle, Pinterest-lookalike The Fancy, and more recently, location-based social network Foursquare and automation startup R2 Studios.

The truth is, more often than not, these rumors are just that — rumors. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention them on the off chance that they someday materialized. Especially deals like this. If Apple were to buyout Waze, it would have a significant impact on iOS users.

So, the question of the day is: out of all the companies Apple has recently been rumored to buy, which one makes the most sense?