Apple Planning to Expand Maps App's 'Look Around' Feature

[MacRumors]

Apple Maps is seemingly preparing for a significant expansion of its "Look Around" feature to compete more aggressively with Google's Street View.

Apple's "Look Around" feature offers high-resolution, interactive street-level imagery in the Maps app. To date, its scope has been relatively limited, mainly concentrated in major metropolitan areas and a few select regions worldwide.

A recent discovery by X user Ryan Fae, shared with MacRumors, reveals that Apple Maps' vector tile format, used in the beta version of the web-based platform, leaks information about future Look Around coverage areas. This information, found within the Maps app's underlying code, outlines a more extensive network of planned coverage that's far beyond what is currently available.

The leaked data shows that in the United States, Look Around coverage will no longer be confined to major cities. Instead, it will expand to include major highways, smaller cities, and rural areas. The findings also suggest that new countries are set to gain Look Around coverage as well, including Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, China, Belarus, Turkey, Bulgaria, Mexico, and Slovakia. The expansion into some of these places aligns with sightings of Apple mapping vehicles in 2023. For many of these regions, this would represent the first time high-quality street-level imagery has been made available, as Google's Street View either lacks coverage or is of low quality in these areas.

Article Link: Apple Planning to Expand Maps App's 'Look Around' Feature

 

[Nugget]

I think this is great news. Street view is really the one thing that still sends me to Google Maps sometimes over Apple Maps.

 

[russell_314]

I think they should’ve came up with a better name than "Look Around". It sounds like a purposely generic name for street view 😂

 

[spunkybart]

I think this is great news. Street view is really the one thing that still sends me to Google Maps sometimes over Apple Maps.

I came here to say the exact thing.

 

[sdf]

I think they should’ve came up with a better name than "Look Around". It sounds like a purposely generic name for street view 😂

Yup. Street View is the perfect name for it. Everything else I can think of sounds annoyingly generic or like it’s trying to avoid being “street view” exactly.

 

[jgreg728]

Great news! Look Around is way nicer than Street View. Definitely need more of it now that Maps is on the web too.

 

[Ratlerbite]

I rarely used Apple Maps but it’s cool they are adding it finally

 

[MasterControlProgram]

One thing Street View will probably always have going for it is you can access older images of an area. You're not going to see a massive difference now, but in 50 years time if Google keep combing the streets and recording the changes it will add up to quite a powerful time machine to watch an area change over the years.

I'd love to see Look Around do something similar, but Apple haven't even got matching coverage comparable to Street View yet, let alone a history of changes. I hope Apple really make the effort to catch up to Google.

 

[InsideApple]

Just was about to share the info that a couple of days ago I saw the Apple Maps car with German plates in Switzerland on a road at a lake. I‘m probably on the footage on my bike, looking like a confused moron😂

 

[jhollington]

The leaked data shows that in the United States, Look Around coverage will no longer be confined to major cities. Instead, it will expand to include major highways, smaller cities, and rural areas.

Something that I found quite shocking when Look Around first came to Canada was that Apple had done exactly that up here. Granted, there are far fewer highways up here than in the United States, but Apple had taken the trouble to record nearly every mile of every major and minor highway south of the tree line, even up into obscure small towns in Northern Ontario. When Look Around went live, it was for pretty much ALL of Canada, not just a few major cities.

I figured it was only a matter of time before it repeated that experiment elsewhere.

 

[9081094]

It’s nice and I’m really happy there is some progress. I love to use AppleMaps here in the Netherlands but there are many situations I’m forced to use google maps instead. Also I was wondering what happened to the flyovers? I saw google has the same capability now not only for major cities but for the whole Netherlands.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

They should rename the feature iLook Pro.

 

[9081094]

They should rename the feature iLook Pro.

Or… ‘I can see clearly now’ 😂

 

[Dble07]

I want to see maps work more like a traditional GPS when using CarPlay. I like being able to see upcoming streets when the vehicle is in motion like a traditional GPS.

 

[dennishapca]

there’s also an apple website where you can find information on previous and future surveys in each country, although some countries stated here are not on there, but there’s also more than currently don’t have the look around feature that are not mentioned above.

https://maps.apple.com/imagecollection/locations/

 

[Mother Nature]

I think they should’ve came up with a better name than "Look Around". It sounds like a purposely generic name for street view 😂

If the article is correct, the feature will include more than streets, "it will expand to include major highways, smaller cities, and rural areas", therefore the name makes sense.

 

[LilNasX]

Maybe they can focus on making maps work correctly. I gave apple maps a chance this weekend and it took me across the street from the address i provided it. 😂

 

[jonblatho]

One thing Street View will probably always have going for it is you can access older images of an area. You're not going to see a massive difference now, but in 50 years time if Google keep combing the streets and recording the changes it will add up to quite a powerful time machine to watch an area change over the years.

I'd love to see Look Around do something similar, but Apple haven't even got matching coverage comparable to Street View yet, let alone a history of changes. I hope Apple really make the effort to catch up to Google.

For what it's worth, I filed a feature request using Feedback Assistant for exactly this functionality years ago when Look Around first debuted, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. They haven't added it yet, of course, but they've never closed the bug either. I bet it'll become a priority as their archive expands.

 

[MozMan68]

Maybe they can focus on making maps work correctly. I gave apple maps a chance this weekend and it took me across the street from the address i provided it. 😂

Yeah...this NEVER happens on Google Maps or other mapping apps...

 

[MozMan68]

I want to see maps work more like a traditional GPS when using CarPlay. I like being able to see upcoming streets when the vehicle is in motion like a traditional GPS.

Ummm...what?

 

[TurboDrooler]

While I live in an area of Canada that has had great coverage for a while, I’m happy to hear this. Look Around is much better looking than Street View. It feels more 3D…there seems to be some kind of parallax effect when moving around which is really neat. With this and Apple Maps web, we may finally have a decent competitor. Now we need to talk about Yelp and how useless it is…

 

[MozMan68]

Something that I found quite shocking when Look Around first came to Canada was that Apple had done exactly that up here. Granted, there are far fewer highways up here than in the United States, but Apple had taken the trouble to record nearly every mile of every major and minor highway south of the tree line, even up into obscure small towns in Northern Ontario. When Look Around went live, it was for pretty much ALL of Canada, not just a few major cities.

I figured it was only a matter of time before it repeated that experiment elsewhere.

Most likely because the data collected in the original countries (like the USA and UK) did not have the same tech on board the vehicles when later countries were surveyed. Seems pretty clear they had to scrap the data or it was unusable for some reason and they simply "re-mapped" the cities that have LookAround today for both the USA and UK.

Convinced they will go beyond a simple LookAround and introduce DCE features.

 

[Mr_Ed]

Until Apple Maps gets better about the accuracy of listed businesses (missing long operating ones, listing long gone ones, showing inaccurate location of business), none of these other features matter much to me.

I still try it once in a while hoping it has improved, but in short order encounter one of the above mentioned issues and go back to Google Maps.

 

[binaryfuneral]

I want to see maps work more like a traditional GPS when using CarPlay. I like being able to see upcoming streets when the vehicle is in motion like a traditional GPS.

Ummmm. I have news for you....

 

[Brain Damage]

2 weeks ago a car with Apple Maps written on it drove by me two times the same day (different locations). In Gothenburg, Sweden so I guess Sweden is also about to get ”street view”.