Look Around (Apple)
| Look Around | |
|---|---|
| Initial release | September 19, 2019 |
| Platform | iOS, iPadOS, macOS |
| Available in | Multiple languages |
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
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 started surveying Spain, Portugal, Croatia, and Slovenia. A year later, in 2018, Apple started collecting imagery in Japan.
In 2019, Apple started releasing the new map in United States. In January, California received the new map.[3] In April, Arizona and New Mexico got the new map.[4] In May 2019, Apple announced plans to begin collecting data for Apple Maps in Canada.[5] In November, the new map covered 51% of the United States. [6] In December, the entire United States is covered by the new map.[7]
Overall in 2019, Apple 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.[8] Apple began testing the new map in the United Kingdom and Ireland on August 23, 2020 and published it on October 01, 2020.[9][10] Apple launched testing of its new map in Canada on October 20, 2020, before deploying it on December 10, 2020.[11][12]
Overall in 2020, Apple 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.[13] Apple started testing its new map data in Spain and Portugal on April 22, 2021, with the maps launching on June 2021.[14][15] On September 10, 2021, Apple published new map data in Andorra, Italy, San Marino, and Vatican City.[16] Apple began testing its new maps in Australia on October 19, 2021, publishing the new data on December 9, 2021.[17]
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.[18] 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.[19][20] 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.[21] The Look Around feature was enabled in all of Germany on July 25, 2022.[22]
Apple started testing its new map data in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Saudi Arabia on August 5, 2022.[23] In September 2022, Apple announced the start of image collection in Thailand, which began in October 2022. On November 3, 2022, Apple started testing its new map data in Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.[24] The new data was released on December 15, 2022, alongside Israel, Palestinian Territories, and Saudi Arabia.[25]
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.[26] On March 10, 2023, Apple began testing its new map data in Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia.[27] The new maps were released on April 6, 2023.[28] On April 17, 2023, Apple began surveying the United Arab Emirates. On May 2, 2023, Apple began testing its new map in Hong Kong, Slovakia, and Taiwan.[29] The new map data was published for these countries in June 2023. On July 31, 2023, Apple began testing its new maps in Denmark and Greece, with the map data officially launching on October 12, 2023.[30][31]
Overall in 2023, Apple began collecting imagery in Brazil, India, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.
In January 2024, an Apple Maps car was spotted in USJ 20, Malaysia, with the text Koleksi Imejan Apple Maps (English: Apple Maps Image Collection) emblazoned on the car.[32] In December of the same year, Look Around was released on the web version of Apple Maps.[33]
Overall in 2024, Apple began collecting imagery in Cyprus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Vietnam.
On January 25, 2025, Apple began testing its new map data in Thailand, with the official launch occurring on May 8, 2025. Apple released Look Around in most of Mexico on August 21, 2025.
Overall in 2025, Apple began collecting imagery in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.
As of May 2025, Look Around covers around 82 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, Finland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Taiwan, Austria, Greece, Denmark, Hong Kong, Monaco and Mexico.
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.[34] As of May 2021, the following areas have received the Refine Location feature:
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 July 2023, the following areas have received AR Walking Directions:
Timeline of introductions
| # | Release date | Major locations added |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 19, 2019[37] | Las Vegas, Oahu, San Francisco Bay Area, Santa Cruz |
| 2 | September 30, 2019[38] | Los Angeles, New York City |
| 3 | November 18, 2019 | Houston |
| 4 | February 19, 2020[39] | Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. |
| 5 | April 20, 2020[40] | Chicago |
| 6 | June 29, 2020[41] | Seattle |
| 7 | August 4, 2020[42] | Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo |
| 8 | October 1, 2020[43] | Edinburgh, London Dublin |
| 9 | October 7, 2020[44] | Phoenix |
| 10 | December 4, 2020 | Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Takamatsu |
| 11 | December 10, 2020[45] | Southern Canada |
| 12 | December 16, 2020[46] | Denver, Detroit, Miami |
| 13 | February 3, 2021[47] | San Diego, Portland |
| 14 | May 12, 2021[48] | Atlanta |
| 15 | May 17, 2021[48] | Kanazawa, Sendai |
| 16 | June 7, 2021[13] | Spain Continental Portugal Gibraltar |
| 17 | September 10, 2021[16] | Italy San Marino |
| 18 | October 29, 2021 | Andorra |
| 19 | December 9, 2021[17] | Australia |
| 20 | April 21, 2022[18] | Munich Singapore |
| 21 | May 18, 2022 | Frankfurt, Stuttgart |
| 22 | May 27, 2022[49] | Niigata, Sapporo, Shizuoka |
| 23 | June 16, 2022 | Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Essen |
| 24 | June 30, 2022 | Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig |
| 25 | July 7, 2022[20] | Metropolitan France New Zealand |
| 26 | July 25, 2022[22] | Rest of Germany |
| 27 | December 15, 2022[25] | Belgium Israel Liechtenstein Luxembourg Netherlands Switzerland |
| 28 | March 2, 2023[26] | Mainland Finland Norway Sweden |
| 29 | April 7, 2023[28] | Croatia Czech Republic Hungary Poland Slovenia |
| 30 | May 20, 2023 | Himeji, Kitakyushu, Maebashi, Okayama |
| 31 | July 27, 2023 | Dallas, Minneapolis, Tampa Bay |
| 32 | September 26, 2023 | Austria Taiwan |
| 33 | October 12, 2023[31] | Denmark Greece |
| 34 | October 20, 2023 | Hong Kong |
| 35 | November 2, 2023 | Sacramento |
| 36 | December 10, 2023 | Jacksonville, Orlando |
| 37 | February 8, 2024 | Kumamoto, Utsunomiya |
| 38 | February 15, 2024 | Charlotte, Raleigh |
| 39 | March 28, 2024 | Austin, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, and several areas in California |
| 40 | May 17, 2024 | Monaco |
| 41 | August 15, 2024 | Åland |
| 42 | January 30, 2025[50] | New Orleans |
| 43 | April 12, 2025 | More areas in California |
| 44 | May 1, 2025 | Rest of Ireland |
| 45 | August 21, 2025[51] | Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Tijuana, Morelia, Ciudad Juárez, Mérida, San Luis Potosí, Hermosillo, Mexicali, Culiacán, Veracruz, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Villahermosa, Xalapa, La Paz, Chilpancingo, Chetumal, Puerto Vallarta, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Guasave, Cozumel, Cuauhtémoc, Tampico, Oaxaca |
| 46 | November 13, 2025[52] | Kansas City |
| 47 | March 8, 2026 | More areas in Nevada, Oregon and Washington State |
Coverage
Look Around is available in over 80 cities and countries across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia as of 2026:[53]
Future coverage
According to the company, Apple's vehicles and pedestrians have visited, or are scheduled to visit, the following countries and territories:[54][a]
See also
Notes
- ^ While the new map covers the Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Thailand, and Vatican City, these countries lack the Look Around feature.
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 recouvre toute la Californie de ses cartes enrichies". iGeneration (in French). 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ "Les nouvelles cartes de Plans dans deux États américains de plus". iGeneration (in French). 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ Dillet, Romain (27 May 2019). "Apple starts collecting data for Apple Maps in Canada". TechCrunch. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Les nouvelles cartes d'Apple couvrent la moitié des États-Unis". iGeneration (in French). 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ^ "Les nouvelles cartes de Plans couvrent tous les États-Unis". iGeneration (in French). 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ^ Keane, Sean. "WWDC 2020: Apple adds cycling directions to Maps for iOS 14". C-Net. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "Les nouvelles cartes de Plans apparaissent au Royaume-Uni et en Irlande". iGeneration (in French). 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ "Les nouvelles cartes de Plans officiellement lancées au Royaume-Uni et en Irlande". iGeneration (in French). 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
- ^ "Apple teste les nouvelles cartes de Plans au Canada 🆕". iGeneration (in French). 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
- ^ "Les nouvelles cartes de Plans sont maintenant officiellement arrivées au Canada". iGeneration (in French). 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
- ^ a b McShan, Frank (7 June 2021). "Redesigned Apple Maps Expanding to Spain and Portugal Today, Italy and Australia Later This Year". MacRumors. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "Apple's New Map—Expansions & Current Coverage Areas". justinobeirne.com. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
- ^ "Les nouvelles cartes de Plans s'affichent en Espagne et au Portugal". iGeneration (in French). 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
- ^ a b Hardwick, Tim (10 September 2021). "Revamped Apple Maps Rolls Out Across Italy". MacRumors. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ a b Espósito, Filipe (10 December 2021). "Apple Maps expands detailed coverage, Look Around, and other features to Australia". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ a b Hardwick, Tim (21 April 2022). "Redesigned Apple Maps Expands to Germany and Singapore". MacRumors. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "Plans : les limites de vitesse en France, et des bâtiments plus détaillés". iGeneration (in French). 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ a b Fathi, Sami (7 July 2022). "Apple Expands Revamped Apple Maps Experience to New Countries". MacRumors. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Fathi, Sami (6 June 2022). "Apple Maps Gaining Support for Multi-Stop Routing in iOS 16 and Expanding New Maps to 11 More Countries". MacRumors. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ a b ""Look Around" in Apple Karten in ganz Deutschland verfügbar". iPhone-Ticker.de (in German). 26 July 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "Nouvelle expansion pour Apple Plans : Israël, Palestine et Arabie saoudite". iGeneration (in French). 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
- ^ "Apple teste les nouvelles cartes de Plans en Belgique et en Suisse". iGeneration (in French). 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
- ^ a b Rossignol, Joe (15 December 2022). "Apple Maps Redesign Expands to Netherlands and Six More Countries". MacRumors. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ a b Gallagher, William (3 March 2023). "Apple Maps brings Look Around to Finland, Norway, and Sweden". AppleInsider. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ Miller, Chance (12 March 2023). "Apple testing rebuilt Apple Maps in six new Central Europe countries". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ a b Hardwick, Tim (7 April 2023). "Apple Maps Redesign Expands to Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia". MacRumors. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ^ Clover, Juli (2 May 2023). "Apple Maps Redesign Now Rolling Out in Taiwan". MacRumors. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ Popa, Bogdan (2 August 2023). "Apple Getting Ready to Expand Its New Maps to More Regions". autoevolution. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ a b Hardwick, Tim (13 October 2023). "Apple Maps Redesign Expands to Denmark and Greece". MacRumors. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ Lee, Jonathan (2024-01-16). "Apple Maps cars spotted in Malaysia: Look Around, improved maps coming soon?". SoyaCincau. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ Shakir, Umar. "Apple Maps on the web now has Look Around". The Verge. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ Dillet, Romain (2020-06-25). "Apple Maps to tell you to refine location by scanning the skyline". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ "iOS Feature Availability". Apple. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "iOS and iPadOS - Feature Availability". Apple. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ "IOS 13 REVIEW: JOIN THE DARK SIDE". The Verge. September 19, 2019.
- ^ 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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Apple Maps' Look Around feature works in three more U.S. Cities". 21 February 2020.
- ^ Slivka, Eric (21 April 2020). "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Expands to Chicago". MacRumors. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ Voorhees, John (29 June 2020). "Apple Adds Look Around for Seattle, Washington in Maps". MacStories. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ Clover, Juli (4 August 2020). "Apple Maps Gains Look Around in Some Japanese Cities". Mac Rumors. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ Neely, Amber (October 2020). "UK, Ireland get Apple Maps Look Around, cycling directions". Apple Insider. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ^ Clover, Juli (7 October 2020). "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Now Available in Phoenix, Arizona". MacRumors. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Apple Maps rolls out update for Canada packed with new features". AppleInsider. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
- ^ "Apple Maps Look Around Feature Expands to Denver, Detroit, Miami and More". MacRumors. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
- ^ Clover, Juli (3 February 2021). "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Now Available in San Diego and Portland". MacRumors. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ a b Clover, Juli (12 May 2021). "Apple Maps 'Look Around' Feature Expands to Atlanta, Georgia". MacRumors. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ Warwick, Stephen (27 May 2022). "Apple Maps Japan receives cycling directions, Look Around expansions". iMore. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ Popa, Bogdan (30 January 2025). "Apple Releases Major Apple Maps Update After 384 Days". Autoevolution. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
- ^ Cahun, Antonio. "Mapas de Apple cambia para siempre en México: ahora se parece más a Google Maps y es más fácil de usar". Xataka México. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ "Apple Maps rolls out Look Around and Detailed City Experience features in Kansas City". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ Hayes, Tyler. "Apple Maps Plays Catchup to Google Maps With 'Look Around' on the Web". PCMag. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ "Apple Maps Image Collection". Retrieved 21 August 2024.
External links
- Lookmap at Python Alternative viewer for Apple Maps Look Around, on non-Apple devices