Apple Look Around

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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]

Background[]

An Apple Maps vehicle driving through St. Charles, Missouri in June 2015
An Apple Maps van in Havre, Montana in July 2018
An Apple Maps car near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June 2019
Cameras of an Apple Maps car in Grenoble in June 2020
An Apple Maps car driving in Geelong in November 2019

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] In 2019, Apple had started mapping Andorra, Canada, Malta, 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, Apple had started collecting imagery in countries such as 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 countries such as Hungary, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, and Taiwan.

As of December 2021, Look Around covers roughly 36 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, San Marino, Australia, and the United States.

Refine Location[]

In iOS 14, Apple released a new feature called Refine Location in Apple Maps, where the user scans the surrounding area and will update their location where there is low-quality data. This works with Look Around, as the same data is used to help with the accuracy of the locations. As of May 2021, The following areas have received the Refine Location feature:

Locations with Refine Location[9]
Country Location
 United States Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orange County, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Riverside, California, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington, D.C.

Timeline of introductions[]

# Release date Major locations added
1 Thursday, September 19, 2019[10] United States Las Vegas, Oahu, San Francisco Bay Area, Santa Cruz
2 Monday, September 30, 2019[11] United States Los Angeles, New York City
3 Monday, November 18, 2019 United States Houston
4 Wednesday, February 19, 2020[12] United States Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C.
5 Monday, April 20, 2020[13] United States Chicago
6 Monday, June 29, 2020[14] United States Seattle
7 Tuesday, August 4, 2020[15] Japan Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo
8 Thursday, October 1, 2020[16] United Kingdom Edinburgh, London
Republic of Ireland Dublin
9 Wednesday, October 7, 2020[17] United States Phoenix
10 Friday, December 4, 2020 Japan Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Takamatsu
11 Thursday, December 10, 2020[18] Canada Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan
12 Wednesday, December 16, 2020[19] United States Denver, Detroit, Miami
13 Wednesday, February 3, 2021[20] United States San Diego, Portland
14 Wednesday, May 12, 2021[21] United States Atlanta
15 Monday, May 17, 2021 Japan Kanazawa, Sendai
16 Monday, June 7, 2021[22] Spain 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
Portugal Continental Portugal
Gibraltar Gibraltar
17 Friday, September 10, 2021[23] Italy 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 San Marino
18 Friday, October 29, 2021 Andorra Andorra
19 Thursday, December 9, 2021 Australia Australian Capital Territory, Jervis Bay, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Coverage[]

Locations with Look Around
Country Region
 Andorra Full coverage
 Australia Full coverage
 Canada Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan
 Ireland Dublin
 Italy Full coverage
 Japan Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Sendai, Takamatsu, Tokyo
 Portugal Continental Portugal
 San Marino Full coverage
 Spain 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
 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 have driven through, or are scheduled to drive through, the following countries:[24]

Country Vehicle Locations
 Austria Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tirol, Upper Austria, Vienna, Vorarlberg
 Belgium Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia
 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
 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
 Finland 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
 France Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Brittany, Centre-Val de Loire, Corsica, Grand Est, Hauts-de-France, Île-de-France, Normandy, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, Pays de la Loire, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
 Germany Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia
 Hong Kong Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong-Macao Bridge, Kowloon, New Territories
 Hungary Budapest, Southern Great Plain, Southern Transdanubia, Northern Great Plain, Northern Hungary, Central Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia, Pest
 Israel Central District, Haifa District, Jerusalem District, Northern District, Southern District, Tel Aviv District
 Liechtenstein Liechtenstein
 Luxembourg Capellen, Clervaux, Diekirch, Echternach, Esch-sur-Alzette, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg City, Mersch, Redange, Remich, Vianden, Wiltz
 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
 Monaco Monaco
 Netherlands Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, North Brabant, North Holland, Overijssel, South Holland, Utrecht, Zeeland
 New Zealand Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington
 Norway Agder, Innlandet, Møre og Romsdal, Nordland, Oslo, Rogaland, Troms og Finnmark, Trøndelag, Vestfold og Telemark, Vestland, Viken
 Poland Greater Poland, Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Lesser Poland, Lodz, Lower Silesian, Lublin, Lubusz, Masovian, Opole, Podlaskie, Pomeranian, Silesian, Subcarpathian, Swietokryzskie, Warmian-Masurian, West Pomeranian
 Singapore Singapore
 Slovenia Carinthia, Central Sava, Central Slovenia, Coastal-Karst, Drava, Gorizia, Littoral-Inner Carniola, Ljubljana, Lower Sava, Mura, Savinja, Southeast Slovenia, Upper Carniola
 Sweden Blekinge, Dalarna, Gävleborg, Gotland, Halland, Jämtland, Jönköping, Kalmar, Kronoberg, Norrbotten, Örebro, Östergotland, Skåne, Södermanland, Stockholm, Uppsala, Värmland, Västerbotten, Västernorrland, Västmanland, Västra Götaland
  Switzerland Central Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland, Espace Mittelland, Lake Geneva, Northwestern Switzerland, Ticino, Zurich
 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
 United Kingdom Full coverage in Channel Islands, England, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales
 United States Full coverage in all 50 U.S. states, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

See also[]

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. "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 7 June 2021.
  6. ^ Hardwick, Tim. "Revamped Apple Maps Rolls Out Across Italy". MacRumors. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  7. ^ Fathi, Sami. "Revamped Apple Maps Rolls Out in Australia [Updated]". MacRumors. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  8. ^ Clover, Juli. "Apple Rolls Out Updated Maps Interface in Australia". MacRumors. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  9. ^ "iOS Feature Availability". Apple. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  10. ^ "IOS 13 REVIEW: JOIN THE DARK SIDE". The Verge. September 19, 2019.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Apple Maps' Look Around feature works in three more U.S. Cities".
  13. ^ Slivka, Eric. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Expands to Chicago". MacRumors. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  14. ^ Voorhees, John. "Apple Adds Look Around for Seattle, Washington in Maps". MacStories. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  15. ^ Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps Gains Look Around in Some Japanese Cities". Mac Rumors. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  16. ^ Neely, Amber. "UK, Ireland get Apple Maps Look Around, cycling directions". Apple Insider. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  17. ^ Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Now Available in Phoenix, Arizona". MacRumors. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Apple Maps rolls out update for Canada packed with new features". AppleInsider. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  19. ^ "Apple Maps Look Around Feature Expands to Denver, Detroit, Miami and More". MacRumors. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  20. ^ Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Now Available in San Diego and Portland". MacRumors. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  21. ^ Clover, Juli. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Expands to Atlanta, Georgia". MacRumors. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  22. ^ McShan, Frank. "Redesigned Apple Maps Expanding to Spain and Portugal Today, Italy and Australia Later This Year". MacRumors. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  23. ^ Esposito, Filipe. "Apple Maps 'Look Around' and enhanced data now expanded to Italy". 9to5 Mac. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Apple: Apple Maps vehicles". Retrieved 2 November 2015.
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