The new Google Maps application is demonstrated in New York on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. The world's most popular online mapping system returned late Wednesday with the release of the Google Maps iPhone app.

(AP Photo/Karly Domb Sadof)

Apple gave millions of iPhone iOS 6 users an early Christmas present: Google Maps are back.

The trouble started in the fall, when Apple chucked the popular Google Maps and replaced it with its own mapping program.

The complaints began immediately. The Apple map program misplaced landmarks. Some users reported getting terribly lost when following Apple directions.

(READ: Police Call Apple Maps "Potentially Life-Threatening")

Dissent was so strong, Apple CEO Tim Cook released a public apology a few weeks after the program rolled out.

Late Wednesday, Apple reintroduced Google Maps into its iTunes store. It became the top free download by Thursday morning.

Google Inc. says it has improved some of its features with the latest version. Users will see street-level photos of neighborhoods, as well as three-dimensional views, according to the Associated Press.

While iPhone users cheer the return, there isn't a Google mapping app for the Apple iPad yet. Google says one is in the works, but the company won't release word on when the app could be released.