Apple Maps could be planning a major update to better compete with Google Maps Street View
Apple Maps has improved a lot since its somewhat troubled launch in 2012, but its immersive street-level Look Around feature still lags behind Google Maps’ Street View. According to a new leak, Apple has big plans to fix that.
As noted by reporter Ryan Fae (via MacRumors), code embedded in the recently launched Apple Maps web app reveals some of the areas Look Around will be coming next – and a significant expansion appears imminent.
While Look Around’s street-level photography is currently limited to major cities in the US and a few select regions internationally, it will soon include major highways, smaller towns, and rural areas, starting in the United States.
In addition, there are indications that Look Around will expand to new countries, including Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, China, Belarus, Turkey, Bulgaria, Mexico and Slovakia. In some cases, these countries don’t even have great Street View coverage yet.
Apple Maps vs Google Maps
SCOOP (for @VirtualStreets_): Apple Maps’ vector tile format used in the web beta is leaking “Look Around” coverage lines, as discovered by skzk. It reveals a much larger network of future Look Around coverage. Here’s a look at what else is coming to Look Around🧵 pic.twitter.com/kClNfG6Lj2August 10, 2024
It’s worth noting that the new markers Apple has introduced for Look Around don’t appear to be final yet, so there could be more changes on the way. It’s also unclear how long it will take for the improvements to roll out.
When it comes to the ongoing battle between Apple Maps and Google Maps, Google clearly has the upper hand when it comes to offering Street View photos of most of the roads on the planet (and many trails and mountain slopes Google also offers a richer experience when it comes to looking up details about places and businesses.
Still, Apple has done a good job of polishing core mapping features, including turn-by-turn navigation. We’re getting more improvements next month with iOS 18, when you’ll finally be able to search for places anywhere on the map you want, not just around your current location. Apple also recently launched Apple Maps on the web, though it doesn’t currently offer the Look Around feature.
Google Maps recently added some spectacular augmented reality time travel tricks in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but Google is getting down to the hardware now: The Pixel 9 phones and the Pixel Watch 3 are launching later today, and you’ll be able to follow along live.