Apple Look Around
Apple Look Around is a technology featured in Apple Maps that provides interactive panoramas from positions along a small number of streets in the United States. 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]
Background
In early 2015, vehicles equipped with twelve cameras and lidar sensors were seen in a variety of places throughout the United States. These vehicles were owned by Apple. 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 May 2019, Apple announced plans to begin collecting data for Apple Maps in Canada.[3]
During WWDC on June 22, 2020, Apple announced its new maps would be coming to Ireland, the UK, and Canada later this year[4], and had started surveying parts of Belgium and the Netherlands.
On August 4, 2020, Japan became the first country outside of the United States to gain the Look Around feature, with the cities of Kyoto, Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya added.
Timeline of introductions
# | Release date | Major locations added |
---|---|---|
1 | Thursday, September 19, 2019[5] | |
2 | Monday, September 30, 2019 | |
3 | Monday, November 18, 2019 | |
4 | Wednesday, February 19, 2020[7] | |
5 | Monday, April 20, 2020 | |
6 | Monday, June 29, 2020[8] | |
7 | Tuesday, August 4, 2020[9] |
Coverage
Country | Region |
---|---|
Boston | |
Chicago | |
Houston | |
Las Vegas | |
Los Angeles | |
New York City | |
Oahu | |
Philadelphia | |
San Francisco Bay Area | |
Santa Cruz | |
Seattle | |
Washington, D.C. | |
Kyoto | |
Nagoya | |
Osaka | |
Tokyo |
Image collection
According to the company, Apple's vehicles have driven through, or are scheduled to drive through, the following countries:[10]
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.
- "Apple starts collecting data for Apple Maps in Canada". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
- Keane, Sean. "WWDC 2020: Apple adds cycling directions to Maps for iOS 14". C-Net. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- "IOS 13 REVIEW: JOIN THE DARK SIDE". The Verge. September 19, 2019.
- https://www.ubergizmo.com/2019/10/apple-maps-look-around-live-new-york-los-angeles/
- "Apple Maps' Look Around feature works in three more U.S. Cities".
- 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.
- "Apple: Apple Maps vehicles". Retrieved 2 November 2015.