Apple : Maps introduces new ways to explore major cities in 3D

UPDATESeptember 27, 2021

Apple Maps introduces new ways to explore major cities in 3D

Maps users in London, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco can experience a three-dimensional city view with rich detail, enhanced navigation, immersive walking directions, and more

Apple Maps features a three-dimensional city experience with more realistic and colorful details, and an interactive globe that offers a new way of looking at the world.

With the release of iOS 15, Apple Maps gets its biggest update ever with a city experience that offers rich details, driving routes with better navigation, immersive walking directions shown in augmented reality, and much more. The update, which expands on the new map that Apple spent years building from the ground up, is now available in London, Los Angeles, New York City, and the San Francisco Bay Area, with more cities to come.

"We are thrilled to offer the new Apple Maps experience. Maps is the best way to navigate the world: It is easy to use, beautifully designed, and built with privacy at its core. With this update, we are pushing Maps even further, providing more ways for users to discover the natural beauty of the world and explore cities through a new 3D view," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Services. "Our goal has always been to build the best and most accurate map in the world. The upgrades in Apple Maps are a continuation of that effort, with features and an attention to detail that only Apple can deliver."

Explore Cities with Highly Detailed Maps

Apple Maps introduces a new way to navigate cities with a visually stunning 3D map that offers unprecedented detail for neighborhoods, commercial districts, marinas, buildings, and more. Now users can see elevation details across a city, new road labels, and hundreds of custom-designed landmarks like Coit Tower in San Francisco, Dodger Stadium in LA, the Statue of Liberty in NYC, and the Royal Albert Hall in London, with more to come. A beautiful nighttime mode with a moonlit glow activates at dusk. The city map experience is now available in London, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, and later this year, it will be available in Philadelphia, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. Support for additional cities, including Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, will be available next year.

• iPhone displays a 3D map of San Francisco in Apple Maps in iOS 15.
• iPhone displays a 3D map of Royal Albert Hall in London in Apple Maps in iOS 15.
• iPhone displays a 3D map of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in Apple Maps in iOS 15.
• iPhone displays a 3D map of the Statue of Liberty in New York in Apple Maps in iOS 15.

A visually stunning 3D map shows unprecedented levels of detail and custom-designed landmarks in major cities.

A visually stunning 3D map shows unprecedented levels of detail and custom-designed landmarks in major cities.

A visually stunning 3D map shows unprecedented levels of detail and custom-designed landmarks in major cities.

A visually stunning 3D map shows unprecedented levels of detail and custom-designed landmarks in major cities.

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Enhanced Navigation Provides a Better Driving Experience

Maps now features even more road details to help drivers navigate through cities more easily and safely. Turn lanes, medians, bus and taxi lanes, and crosswalks are clearly displayed for navigating busy intersections, and highways with overlapping complex interchanges are rendered in a road-level 3D view, making it easier to see upcoming traffic conditions or the best lane for an approaching exit. Route planning provides the estimated time of arrival for future departures based on expected traffic. The new navigation will be available through CarPlay later this year.

A road-level 3D view makes it easier to see upcoming traffic conditions or the best lane for an upcoming exit.

Never Miss a Stop with Powerful Transit Updates

Maps now offers major improvements for public transit riders. Nearby stations are prominently displayed at the top of the screen, and users can pin their favorite lines in Maps so the best route is just one tap away. Once a transit route is selected, Maps will automatically notify a user when it is time to disembark as they approach their final destination, and riders can even keep track on Apple Watch. These updates build on transit features already available in Maps, including real-time transit, which provides detailed transit schedules, live departure times, arrival times, the current location of a bus or train en route, and system connections to help plan a journey. Maps also includes important real-time information like outages.

Maps automatically follows along a selected transit ride and now notifies users when they are nearing their desired stop, and riders can even keep track on their Apple Watch.

Immersive Walking Directions

With iOS 15, Apple Maps introduces step-by-step walking guidance in augmented reality. Users can simply raise their iPhone to scan buildings in the area, and Maps generates a highly accurate position to deliver detailed directions that can be viewed in the context of the real world.

iPhone users can now receive step-by-step walking guidance in augmented reality.

Discover Great Places with Curated Guides

Maps makes it easy to discover the amazing things to see and do in cities around the world through curated Guides created by a selection of trusted resources. In iOS 15, users can tap the Explore Guides button in Maps to access over a thousand expertly curated guides that include recommendations from respected brands such as Time Out, The Washington Post, the National Park Foundation, Complex, and The Infatuation. Curated Guides can be saved, and they are automatically updated when new places are added, so users always have the latest recommendations. Users can even create their own personal Guides of favorite places to share with friends and family.

Guides make it easy to find great new restaurants, places to visit on vacation, or things to do in a city.

A New Interactive Globe

In iOS 15, Apple Maps offers a rich and interactive three-dimensional globe that introduces a whole new way of looking at the world. The globe shows Earth's natural beauty with amazing textures and contours. Users can see vibrant details of mountain ranges, deserts, rainforests, oceans, and more. Now even the most remote and precious locations on the planet can be explored right from iPhone.

• A new interactive globe in Apple Maps in iOS 15 shows North America.
• A new interactive globe in Apple Maps in iOS 15 shows Europe and Africa.
• A new interactive globe in Apple Maps in iOS 15 shows Asia and Australia.

A new interactive globe shows the natural beauty of the Earth.

A new interactive globe shows the natural beauty of the Earth.

A new interactive globe shows the natural beauty of the Earth.

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In addition to the new updates available in iOS 15, Apple Maps offers many useful features:

• Look Around gives users a way to explore parts of the world through an interactive 3D street-level experience and a smooth, seamless 360-degree view. Customers anywhere in the world can explore places like Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Los Angeles, New York City, Tokyo, Toronto, and the Italian countryside.

• Cycling directions show the elevation for a ride, how busy a street is, and whether there are stairs along a route. With voice guidance and Haptic Touch on Apple Watch, users can stay even more focused on the path ahead while enjoying their ride.

• Speed cameras let users know when approaching speed and red light cameras along a route, with the added ability to see where cameras are located on the map.

• Share ETA enables users to share an estimated time of arrival with family, friends, and coworkers with a simple tap or by asking Siri.

• Incident reports make it possible to safely and easily report an accident, hazard, or speed check along a route by simply letting Siri know "There's an accident up ahead" or "There is something on the road." Users can even report when incidents displayed on the map have been cleared, all while keeping their focus on the road.

• Flyover offers a way to see select major metro areas with photo-realistic, immersive 3D views. Users can move their device through space to view a city from above, or explore in high resolution as they zoom, pan, tilt, and rotate around the city and its landmarks.

• Favorites provides one-tap navigation to frequently visited places. Whether they're headed home, to work, to the gym, or to school, users can simply tap and go once a location is added to Favorites on the launch screen.

• Indoor Maps for airports and malls allow users to simply open the Maps app and see what level they're on, look for restrooms, and even find out which stores and restaurants are open.

• Look Around in Apple Maps on iPhone shows a detailed street-level view of San Francisco.
• Apple Maps on iPhone shows cycling directions in San Francisco.
• Apple Maps on iPhone shows the Share ETA function.
• Apple Maps on iPhone shows the ability to report a traffic incident.
• Apple Maps on iPhone shows a Flyover view of One World Trade Center in New York City.
• Apple Maps on iPhone shows an Indoor Map of Los Angeles International Airport.

Look Around is an interactive way to visually explore a city with 3D imagery.

Maps offers cycling directions along bike lanes, bike paths, and bike-friendly roads.

Maps users can share their estimated time of arrival with friends and family.

Now users can safely report an accident, hazard, or speed check along a route by using Siri.

Explore major metro areas with photo-realistic immersive 3D views with Flyover.

Maps users can see where stores and restaurants are located within malls and airports using Indoor Maps.

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Maps and Privacy

Apple is committed to keeping personal information safe and has built privacy into the core of Maps. With Maps, no sign-in is required. Personalized features, such as suggesting departure time to make the next appointment, are created using on-device intelligence. Any data collected by Maps while using the app, including search terms, navigation routing, and traffic information, is associated with random identifiers that regularly reset to prevent connecting search and location data stored on the server to a unique user. Maps goes even further to obscure a user's location on Apple servers when searching for a location through a process called "fuzzing." Maps converts the precise location where the search originated to a less-exact one within 24 hours.

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• Text of this article

  September 27, 2021

  UPDATE

  Apple Maps introduces new ways to explore major cities in 3D

  Maps users in London, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco can experience a three-dimensional city view with rich detail, enhanced navigation, immersive walking directions, and more

  With the release of iOS 15, Apple Maps gets its biggest update ever with a city experience that offers rich details, driving routes with better navigation, immersive walking directions shown in augmented reality, and much more. The update, which expands on the new map that Apple spent years building from the ground up, is now available in London, Los Angeles, New York City, and the San Francisco Bay Area, with more cities to come.

  "We are thrilled to offer the new Apple Maps experience. Maps is the best way to navigate the world: It is easy to use, beautifully designed, and built with privacy at its core. With this update, we are pushing Maps even further, providing more ways for users to discover the natural beauty of the world and explore cities through a new 3D view," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Services. "Our goal has always been to build the best and most accurate map in the world. The upgrades in Apple Maps are a continuation of that effort, with features and an attention to detail that only Apple can deliver."

  Explore Cities with Highly Detailed Maps

  Apple Maps introduces a new way to navigate cities with a visually stunning 3D map that offers unprecedented detail for neighborhoods, commercial districts, marinas, buildings, and more. Now users can see elevation details across a city, new road labels, and hundreds of custom-designed landmarks like Coit Tower in San Francisco, Dodger Stadium in LA, the Statue of Liberty in NYC, and the Royal Albert Hall in London, with more to come. A beautiful nighttime mode with a moonlit glow activates at dusk. The city map experience is now available in London, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, and later this year, it will be available in Philadelphia, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. Support for additional cities, including Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, will be available next year.

  Enhanced Navigation Provides a Better Driving Experience

  Maps now features even more road details to help drivers navigate through cities more easily and safely. Turn lanes, medians, bus and taxi lanes, and crosswalks are clearly displayed for navigating busy intersections, and highways with overlapping complex interchanges are rendered in a road-level 3D view, making it easier to see upcoming traffic conditions or the best lane for an approaching exit. Route planning provides the estimated time of arrival for future departures based on expected traffic. The new navigation will be available through CarPlay later this year.

  Never Miss a Stop with Powerful Transit Updates

  Maps now offers major improvements for public transit riders. Nearby stations are prominently displayed at the top of the screen, and users can pin their favorite lines in Maps so the best route is just one tap away. Once a transit route is selected, Maps will automatically notify a user when it is time to disembark as they approach their final destination, and riders can even keep track on Apple Watch. These updates build on transit features already available in Maps, including real-time transit, which provides detailed transit schedules, live departure times, arrival times, the current location of a bus or train en route, and system connections to help plan a journey. Maps also includes important real-time information like outages.

  Immersive Walking Directions

  With iOS 15, Apple Maps introduces step-by-step walking guidance in augmented reality. Users can simply raise their iPhone to scan buildings in the area, and Maps generates a highly accurate position to deliver detailed directions that can be viewed in the context of the real world.

  Discover Great Places with Curated Guides

  Maps makes it easy to discover the amazing things to see and do in cities around the world through curated Guides created by a selection of trusted resources. In iOS 15, users can tap the Explore Guides button in Maps to access over a thousand expertly curated guides that include recommendations from respected brands such as Time Out, The Washington Post, the National Park Foundation, Complex, and The Infatuation. Curated Guides can be saved, and they are automatically updated when new places are added, so users always have the latest recommendations. Users can even create their own personal Guides of favorite places to share with friends and family.

  A New Interactive Globe

  In iOS 15, Apple Maps offers a rich and interactive three-dimensional globe that introduces a whole new way of looking at the world. The globe shows Earth's natural beauty with amazing textures and contours. Users can see vibrant details of mountain ranges, deserts, rainforests, oceans, and more. Now even the most remote and precious locations on the planet can be explored right from iPhone.

  In addition to the new updates available in iOS 15, Apple Maps offers many useful features:

  • Look Around gives users a way to explore parts of the world through an interactive 3D street-level experience and a smooth, seamless 360-degree view. Customers anywhere in the world can explore places like Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Los Angeles, New York City, Tokyo, Toronto, and the Italian countryside.

  • Cycling directions show the elevation for a ride, how busy a street is, and whether there are stairs along a route. With voice guidance and Haptic Touch on Apple Watch, users can stay even more focused on the path ahead while enjoying their ride.

  • Speed cameras let users know when approaching speed and red light cameras along a route, with the added ability to see where cameras are located on the map.

  • Share ETA enables users to share an estimated time of arrival with family, friends, and coworkers with a simple tap or by asking Siri.

  • Incident reports make it possible to safely and easily report an accident, hazard, or speed check along a route by simply letting Siri know "There's an accident up ahead" or "There is something on the road." Users can even report when incidents displayed on the map have been cleared, all while keeping their focus on the road.

  • Flyover offers a way to see select major metro areas with photo-realistic, immersive 3D views. Users can move their device through space to view a city from above, or explore in high resolution as they zoom, pan, tilt, and rotate around the city and its landmarks.

  • Favorites provides one-tap navigation to frequently visited places. Whether they're headed home, to work, to the gym, or to school, users can simply tap and go once a location is added to Favorites on the launch screen.

  • Indoor Maps for airports and malls allow users to simply open the Maps app and see what level they're on, look for restrooms, and even find out which stores and restaurants are open.

  Maps and Privacy

  Apple is committed to keeping personal information safe and has built privacy into the core of Maps. With Maps, no sign-in is required. Personalized features, such as suggesting departure time to make the next appointment, are created using on-device intelligence. Any data collected by Maps while using the app, including search terms, navigation routing, and traffic information, is associated with random identifiers that regularly reset to prevent connecting search and location data stored on the server to a unique user. Maps goes even further to obscure a user's location on Apple servers when searching for a location through a process called "fuzzing." Maps converts the precise location where the search originated to a less-exact one within 24 hours.

  Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages.

  Press Contacts

  Nadine Haija

  Apple

  [e-mail]

  [phone]

  Jacqueline Roy

  Apple

  [e-mail]

  [phone]

  Apple Media Helpline

  [e-mail]

  [phone]

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Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages.

Press Contacts

Nadine Haija

Apple

[e-mail]

[phone]

Jacqueline Roy

Apple

[e-mail]

[phone]

Apple Media Helpline

[e-mail]

[phone]

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