Apple Look Around
Apple Look Around is a technology featured in Apple Maps that provides interactive panoramas from positions along a number of streets in various countries. Look Around allows the user to view 360° street-level imagery, with smooth transitions as the scene is navigated. Look Around was introduced with iOS 13 at Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2019. It was publicly released as part of iOS 13 on September 19, 2019.[1]
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 A street in New Jersey with a look at Look Around in the Apple Maps app on the iPad Pro | |
| Initial release | September 19, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Platform | iOS, iPadOS, macOS |
| Available in | Multiple languages |
Background
In early 2015, vehicles equipped with twelve cameras and lidar sensors were seen in a variety of locations in the United States. These vehicles were owned by Apple and were also seen in places like the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and Sweden. In June 2015, Apple stated on its website that the vehicles were collecting data to improve Apple Maps. Also, Apple claimed to secure privacy by making faces and license plates unrecognizable. In 2018 Apple confirmed in an article that it was rebuilding Apple Maps, with the first results rolled out in California.[2]
In 2017, Apple had started mapping Spain, Portugal, Croatia, and Slovenia. A year later, in 2018, Apple had started collecting imagery in Japan.
In May 2019, Apple announced plans to begin collecting data for Apple Maps in Canada.[3] Overall in 2019, Apple had started collecting imagery in Andorra, Canada, San Marino, Germany and Australia.
During WWDC on June 22, 2020, Apple announced its new maps would be coming to Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Canada later in the year.[4] Overall in 2020, Apple had started collecting imagery in Monaco, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Israel, New Zealand and Singapore.
During WWDC 2021 on June 7, 2021, Apple announced that Spain and Portugal would receive the new maps that day, with both Australia and Italy getting them later in the year[5] On September 10, 2021, Apple published new map data in Andorra, Italy, San Marino, and Vatican City.[6] Apple began testing its new maps in Australia on October 19, 2021, publishing the new data on December 9, 2021.[7][8] Overall in 2021, Apple started collecting imagery in Hungary, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, and Taiwan.
On March 7, 2022, Apple started collecting imagery in Greece. On March 4, 2022, Apple began testing its new map in both Germany and Singapore. On April 21, 2022, Munich and most of Singapore received Look Around. On May 14, 2022, Apple started collecting imagery in Denmark. On May 29, 2022, Apple began testing its new map in France, Monaco, and New Zealand, with the maps launching on July 7, 2022. On June 3, 2022, Apple announced a first round of imagery collection in Mexico, which began in August 2022. During Apple's WWDC event in June 2022, it was announced that eleven new countries would receive the new maps by the end of the year, including Belgium, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.[9] The Look Around feature was enabled in all of Germany on July 26, 2022.[10]
Apple started testing its new map data in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Saudi Arabia on August 5, 2022. In September 2022, Apple announced the start of image collection in Thailand, which began in October 2022. On November 2, 2022, Apple started testing its new map data in Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. The new data was released on December 15, 2022, alongside Israel, Palestinian Territories, and Saudi Arabia.
Overall in 2022, Apple began collecting imagery in Greece, Denmark, Mexico, and Thailand.
On January 23, 2023, Apple began testing its new map data in Austria, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
As of December 2022, Look Around covers roughly 48 areas, including parts of the United Kingdom (which includes the overseas territory of Gibraltar), Ireland, Canada, Japan, Andorra, Spain (including the Balearic and Canary Islands), Portugal, Italy (including Sardinia and Sicily), San Marino, Australia, Germany, Singapore, France, New Zealand, the United States, Israel, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Refine Location
In iOS 14, Apple released a new feature called Refine Location in Apple Maps: if the app cannot otherwise get precise location information, it prompts the user to scan the surrounding area. This uses Look Around data to improve the accuracy of the current location.[11] As of May 2021, The following areas have received the Refine Location feature:
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AR Walking Directions
In iOS 15, Apple released a feature called AR Walking Directions in Apple Maps, where the user scans the surrounding area and will show directions. Much like Refine Location, this feature makes use of the surrounding area and improves the accuracy of directions. As of December 2022, The following areas have received AR Walking Directions:
| Country | Location |
|---|---|
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada | Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver |
 France | Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris |
 Italy | Turin |
 Japan | Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Yokohama |
 New Zealand | Auckland, Wellington |
 Singapore | Singapore |
 United Kingdom | London |
 United States | Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C. |
Note: It was announced that Germany has this feature in cities like Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Hamburg, and Frankfurt but appear to be unavailable.[14]
Timeline of introductions
Coverage
Future coverage
According to the company, Apple's vehicles and pedestrians have visited, or are scheduled to visit, the following countries and territories:[35]
Note: While the new map covers Monaco, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, and Vatican City, these countries lack the Look Around feature.
References
- "iOS 13 Preview - Features". Apple. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- Panzarino, Matthew (June 29, 2018). "Apple is rebuilding Maps from the ground up". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
- Dillet, Romain. "Apple starts collecting data for Apple Maps in Canada". TechCrunch. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- Keane, Sean. "WWDC 2020: Apple adds cycling directions to Maps for iOS 14". C-Net. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- McShan, Frank. "Redesigned Apple Maps Expanding to Spain and Portugal Today, Italy and Australia Later This Year". MacRumors. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- Hardwick, Tim. "Revamped Apple Maps Rolls Out Across Italy". MacRumors. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- Fathi, Sami. "Revamped Apple Maps Rolls Out in Australia [Updated]". MacRumors. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- Clover, Juli. "Apple Rolls Out Updated Maps Interface in Australia". MacRumors. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- Fathi, Sami. "Apple Maps Gaining Support for Multi-Stop Routing in iOS 16 and Expanding New Maps to 11 More Countries". MacRumors. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- "„Look Around" in Apple Karten in ganz Deutschland verfügbar". iPhone-Ticker.de (in German). 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- Dillet, Romain (2020-06-25). "Apple Maps to tell you to refine location by scanning the skyline". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- "iOS Feature Availability". Apple. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- "iOS and iPadOS - Feature Availability". Apple. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- "Apple stellt neue Karte für Deutschland zur Verfügung". Apple Newsroom (Deutschland) (in German). Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- "IOS 13 REVIEW: JOIN THE DARK SIDE". The Verge. September 19, 2019.
- Lee, Tyler; PDT, on 10/01/2019 02:49. "Apple's Answer To Google's Street View Is Now Live In New York City, Los Angeles". Ubergizmo. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
- "Apple Maps' Look Around feature works in three more U.S. Cities".
- Slivka, Eric. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Expands to Chicago". MacRumors. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- Voorhees, John. "Apple Adds Look Around for Seattle, Washington in Maps". MacStories. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps Gains Look Around in Some Japanese Cities". Mac Rumors. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- Neely, Amber. "UK, Ireland get Apple Maps Look Around, cycling directions". Apple Insider. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Now Available in Phoenix, Arizona". MacRumors. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- "Apple Maps rolls out update for Canada packed with new features". AppleInsider. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
- "Apple Maps Look Around Feature Expands to Denver, Detroit, Miami and More". MacRumors. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
- Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Now Available in San Diego and Portland". MacRumors. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Expands to Atlanta, Georgia". MacRumors. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- McShan, Frank. "Redesigned Apple Maps Expanding to Spain and Portugal Today, Italy and Australia Later This Year". MacRumors. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- Esposito, Filipe (10 September 2021). "Apple Maps 'Look Around' and enhanced data now expanded to Italy". 9to5 Mac. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- Esposito, Filipe (10 December 2021). "Apple Maps expands detailed coverage, Look Around, and other features to Australia". 9to5 Mac. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- Hardwick, Tim. "Redesigned Apple Maps Expands to Germany and Singapore". MacRumors. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- Warwick, Stephen (27 May 2022). "Apple Maps Japan receives cycling directions, Look Around expansions". iMore. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- "Apple déploie de toutes nouvelles cartes à destination de la France et de Monaco" [Apple rolls out all-new map across France and Monaco]. Apple (in French). 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Apple rolls out all-new map across New Zealand". Apple. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Rossignol, Joe. "Apple Maps Redesign Expands to Netherlands and Six More Countries". MacRumors. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
- "Apple: Apple Maps vehicles". Retrieved 2 November 2015.