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]

Apple Look Around
Initial releaseSeptember 19, 2019 (2019-09-19)
PlatformiOS, iPadOS, macOS
Available inMultiple 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] 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 Germany and Singapore. On April 21, 2022, Munich and most of Singapore received Look Around alongside the new maps.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] The Look Around feature was enabled in all of Germany on July 25, 2022.[11]

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.[12]

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. On March 2, 2023, the new maps were launched in Finland, Norway, and Sweden.[13] On March 10, 2023, Apple began testing its new map data in Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia.[14]

As of March 2023, Look Around covers roughly 51 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, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

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.[15] As of May 2021, The following areas have received the Refine Location feature:

Locations with Refine Location[16]
Country Location
 Australia Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
 Austria Graz, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna
 Belgium Antwerp, Brussels
 Canada Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Quebec City, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Winnipeg
 Croatia Split, Zagreb
 Czech Republic Prague
 Denmark Copenhagen
 Finland Helsinki
 France Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Paris, Reims, Rouen, Toulouse
 Germany Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, Stuttgart
 Greece Athens
 Hungary Budapest
 Ireland Dublin
 Israel Jerusalem, Tel Aviv
 Italy Bologna, Catania, Florence, Genoa, Milano, Naples, Palermo, Rome, Venice
 Japan Fukuoka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo
 Luxembourg Luxembourg
 Mexico Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Tijuana
 Netherlands Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague
 New Zealand Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington
 Norway Oslo
 Poland Kraków, Warsaw, Wroclaw
 Portugal Lisbon, Porto
 Singapore Singapore
 Slovenia Ljubljana
 Spain Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cordoba, Granada, Madrid, Málaga, Murcia, Pamplona, Seville, Valladolid, Zaragoza
 Sweden Malmö, Stockholm
 Switzerland Bern, Geneva, Zürich
 Taiwan Taichung City, Taipei
 Thailand Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pattaya, Phuket, Udon Thani
 United Kingdom Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester
 United StatesAtlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Maui, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, Oahu, Orange County, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Riverside, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington, D.C.

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:

Locations with AR Walking Directions[17]
Country Location
 CanadaMontreal, Toronto, Vancouver
 FranceLille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris
 ItalyTurin
 JapanFukuoka, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Yokohama
 New ZealandAuckland, Wellington
 SingaporeSingapore
 SpainBarcelona
 United KingdomLondon
 United StatesAtlanta, 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.[18]

Timeline of introductions

# Release date Major locations added
1Thursday, September 19, 2019[19] Las Vegas, Oahu, San Francisco Bay Area, Santa Cruz
2Monday, September 30, 2019[20] Los Angeles, New York City
3Monday, November 18, 2019 Houston
4Wednesday, February 19, 2020[21] Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C.
5Monday, April 20, 2020[22] Chicago
6Monday, June 29, 2020[23] Seattle
7Tuesday, August 4, 2020[24] Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo
8Thursday, October 1, 2020[25] Edinburgh, London
Dublin
9Wednesday, October 7, 2020[26] Phoenix
10Friday, December 4, 2020 Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Takamatsu
11Thursday, December 10, 2020[27] Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan
12Wednesday, December 16, 2020[28] Denver, Detroit, Miami
13Wednesday, February 3, 2021[29] San Diego, Portland
14Wednesday, May 12, 2021[30] Atlanta
15Monday, May 17, 2021[30] Kanazawa, Sendai
16Monday, June 7, 2021[5] Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Basque Country, Canary Islands, Cantabria Castilla-La Mancha, Castile and León, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarre, Valencia
Continental Portugal
Gibraltar
17Friday, September 10, 2021[6] Abruzzo, Aosta Valley, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Molise, Piedmont, Sardinia, Sicily, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Tuscany, Umbria, Veneto
San Marino
18Friday, October 29, 2021 Andorra
19Thursday, December 9, 2021[7] Australian Capital Territory, Jervis Bay, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
20Thursday, April 21, 2022[8] Munich
Singapore
21Wednesday, May 18, 2022 Frankfurt, Stuttgart
22Friday, May 27, 2022[31] Niigata, Sapporo, Shizuoka
23Thursday, June 16, 2022 Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Essen
24Thursday, June 30, 2022 Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig
25Thursday, July 7, 2022[9] Metropolitan France
Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatū-Whanganui, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Wellington, West Coast
26Monday, July 25, 2022[11]Rest of Germany
27Thursday, December 15, 2022[12] Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia
Central District, Haifa District, Jerusalem District, Northern District, Southern District, Tel Aviv District
Liechtenstein
Capellen, Clervaux, Diekirch, Echternach, Esch-sur-Alzette, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg, Mersch, Redange, Remich, Vianden, Wiltz
Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, North Brabant, North Holland, Overijssel, South Holland, Utrecht, Zeeland
Central Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland, Espace Mittelland, Lake Geneva Region, Northwestern Switzerland, Ticino, Zurich
28Thursday, March 2, 2023[13] Åland, Central Finland, Central Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, Kymenlaakso, Lapland, North Karelia, North Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia, Ostrobothnia, Paijanne Tavastia, Pirkanmaa, Satakunta, South Karelia, South Ostrobothnia, Southern Savonia, Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper, Uusimaa
Agder, Innlandet, Møre og Romsdal, Nordland, Oslo, Rogaland, Troms og Finnmark, Trøndelag, Vestfold og Telemark, Vestland, Viken
Blekinge, Dalarna, Gävleborg, Gotland, Halland, Jämtland, Jönköping, Kalmar, Kronoberg, Norrbotten, Örebro, Östergotland, Skåne, Södermanland, Stockholm, Uppsala, Värmland, Västerbotten, Västernorrland, Västmanland, Västra Götaland

Coverage

Locations with Look Around
Country Region
 Andorra Full coverage
 Australia Full coverage
 Belgium Full coverage
 Canada Full coverage (excluding territories)
 Finland Full coverage
 France Metropolitan France
 Germany Full coverage (excluding smaller German islands)
 Ireland Carlow, Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow
 Israel Full coverage
 Italy Full coverage
 Japan Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Nagoya, Niigata, Osaka, Sapporo, Sendai, Shizuoka, Takamatsu, Tokyo
 Liechtenstein Full coverage
 Luxembourg Full coverage
 Netherlands Full coverage (excluding Caribbean territories)
 New Zealand Full coverage
 Norway Full coverage
 Portugal Continental Portugal
 San Marino Full coverage
 Singapore Full coverage
 Spain Full coverage (excluding Ceuta and Melilla)
 Sweden Full coverage
 Switzerland Full coverage
 United Kingdom Edinburgh, Gibraltar, London
 United States Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Oahu, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Santa Cruz, Seattle, Washington, D.C.

Future coverage

According to the company, Apple's vehicles and pedestrians have visited, or are scheduled to visit, the following countries and territories:[32]

Locations visited by Apple Maps Image Collection team
Country Vehicle Pedestrian
 Austria Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Upper Austria, Vienna, Vorarlberg Backpacks: Lower Austria, Vienna

iPhone/iPad: Salzburg, Styria

 Croatia Bjelovar-Bilogora, Brod-Posavina, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Istria, Karlovac, Koprivnica-Križevci, Krapina-Zagorje, Lika-Senj, Medimurje, Osijek-Baranja, Požega-Slavonia, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Šibenik-Knin, Sisak-Moslavina, Split-Dalmatia, Varazdin, Virovitica-Podravina, Vukovar-Srijem, Zadar, City of Zagreb, Zagreb County iPhone/iPad: Split-Dalmatia
 Czech Republic Central Bohemian Region, Hradec Kralove Region, Karlovy Vary Region, Liberec Region, Moravian-Silesian Region, Olomouc Region, Pardubice Region, Plzen Region, Prague, South Bohemian Region, South Moravian Region, Usti nad Labem Region, Vysocina Region, Zlin Region N/A
 Denmark Capital Region of Denmark, Central Region of Denmark, North Denmark Region, Region Zealand, Region of Southern Denmark Backpacks: Capital Region of Denmark
 Greece Attica, Central Greece, Central Macedonia, Crete, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Epirus, Ionian Islands, North Aegean, Peloponnese, Southern Aegean, Thessaly, Western Greece, Western Macedonia Backpacks: Attica
 Hong Kong Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong-Macao Bridge, Kowloon, New Territories Backpacks: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories
 Hungary Budapest, Southern Great Plain, Southern Transdanubia, Northern Great Plain, Northern Hungary, Central Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia, Pest N/A
 Japan Aichi Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Hokkaido, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hyōgo Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Ishikawa Prefecture, Kagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Niigata Prefecture, Okayama Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Shizuoka Prefecture, Tokyo Prefecture Backpacks: Aichi Prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hyōgo Prefecture, Ishikawa Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, Tokyo Prefecture

iPhone/iPad: Tokyo Prefecture

 Mexico Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Lower California, México, Mexico City, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán, Zacatecas Backpacks: Ecatepec de Morelos, Jalisco, Mexico City, Nuevo León, Puebla
 Palestine Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Jericho, Jerusalem, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Salfit, Tubas, Tulkarm N/A
 Poland Greater Poland, Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Lesser Poland, Lodz, Lower Silesian, Lublin, Lubusz, Masovian, Opole, Podlaskie, Pomeranian, Silesian, Subcarpathian, Świetokrzyskie, Warmian-Masurian, West Pomeranian iPhone/iPad: Greater Poland, Lesser Poland, Pomeranian, Silesian
 Slovenia Carinthia, Central Sava, Central Slovenia, Coastal-Karst, Drava, Gorizia, Littoral-Inner Carniola, Ljubljana, Lower Sava, Mura, Savinja, Southeast Slovenia, Upper Carniola N/A
 Taiwan Changhua County, Chiayi City, Chiayi County, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, Hualien County, Kaohsiung, Keelung, Kinmen County, Lianjiang County, Miaoli County, Nantou County, New Taipei City, Penghu County, Pingtung County, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, Taitung County, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Yunlin County Backpacks: Changhua County, Kaohsiung, New Taipei City, Taichung, Tainan, Taoyuan, Taipei
 Thailand Bangkok, Central Thailand, Eastern Thailand, Northeastern Thailand, Northern Thailand, Southern Thailand, Western Thailand N/A
 United Kingdom Full coverage in Channel Islands, England, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales England, Scotland
 United States Full coverage in all 50 U.S. states (including Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) Backpacks: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, Wisconsin

iPhone/iPad: California, Texas

Note: While the new map covers Monaco, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, and Vatican City, these countries lack the Look Around feature.

See also

  • Google Street View
  • List of street view services

References

  1. "iOS 13 Preview - Features". Apple. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  2. Panzarino, Matthew (June 29, 2018). "Apple is rebuilding Maps from the ground up". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  3. Dillet, Romain (27 May 2019). "Apple starts collecting data for Apple Maps in Canada". TechCrunch. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  4. Keane, Sean. "WWDC 2020: Apple adds cycling directions to Maps for iOS 14". C-Net. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  5. McShan, Frank. "Redesigned Apple Maps Expanding to Spain and Portugal Today, Italy and Australia Later This Year". MacRumors. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  6. Hardwick, Tim. "Revamped Apple Maps Rolls Out Across Italy". MacRumors. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  7. Espósito, Filipe (10 December 2021). "Apple Maps expands detailed coverage, Look Around, and other features to Australia". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  8. Hardwick, Tim. "Redesigned Apple Maps Expands to Germany and Singapore". MacRumors. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  9. Fathi, Sami. "Apple Expands Revamped Apple Maps Experience to New Countries". MacRumors. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  10. 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.
  11. ""Look Around" in Apple Karten in ganz Deutschland verfügbar". iPhone-Ticker.de (in German). 26 July 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  12. Rossignol, Joe. "Apple Maps Redesign Expands to Netherlands and Six More Countries". MacRumors. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  13. Gallagher, William. "Apple Maps brings Look Around to Finland, Norway, and Sweden". AppleInsider. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  14. Miller, Chance (12 March 2023). "Apple testing rebuilt Apple Maps in six new Central Europe countries". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  15. Dillet, Romain (2020-06-25). "Apple Maps to tell you to refine location by scanning the skyline". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
  16. "iOS Feature Availability". Apple. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  17. "iOS and iPadOS - Feature Availability". Apple. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  18. "Apple stellt neue Karte für Deutschland zur Verfügung". Apple Newsroom (Deutschland) (in German). Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  19. "IOS 13 REVIEW: JOIN THE DARK SIDE". The Verge. September 19, 2019.
  20. 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.
  21. "Apple Maps' Look Around feature works in three more U.S. Cities".
  22. Slivka, Eric. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Expands to Chicago". MacRumors. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  23. Voorhees, John. "Apple Adds Look Around for Seattle, Washington in Maps". MacStories. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  24. Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps Gains Look Around in Some Japanese Cities". Mac Rumors. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  25. Neely, Amber. "UK, Ireland get Apple Maps Look Around, cycling directions". Apple Insider. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  26. Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Now Available in Phoenix, Arizona". MacRumors. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  27. "Apple Maps rolls out update for Canada packed with new features". AppleInsider. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  28. "Apple Maps Look Around Feature Expands to Denver, Detroit, Miami and More". MacRumors. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  29. Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Now Available in San Diego and Portland". MacRumors. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  30. Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Expands to Atlanta, Georgia". MacRumors. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  31. Warwick, Stephen (27 May 2022). "Apple Maps Japan receives cycling directions, Look Around expansions". iMore. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  32. "Apple: Apple Maps vehicles". Retrieved 2 November 2015.
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