Apple Maps Look Around is the company’s version of Google Street View. Here’s where you can use Apple Maps Look Around.
Apple Maps has come a long way since its “meh” debut back in 2012. While Google Maps still beats Apple Maps on several fronts, Apple Maps has gotten much better thanks mainly to its new designs.
But Apple Maps has a few cool features that beat the comparable features available on Google Maps. I’m talking about Look Around. Here’s what you need to know…
What Is Apple Maps Look Around?
Apple Maps Look Around is essentially Apple’s version of Google Street View. That is, Apple Maps Look Around lets you see photorealistic images of streets and surrounding locations in 360º panoramic views.
While Apple Maps Look Around is essentially Google Maps Street View, there’s no doubt that Apple Maps Look Around looks much better than the images available in Google Street View. We suspect this is because Apple uses cars that are equipped with not only multiple cameras but LIDAR sensors to capture Look Around imagery.
How Do I Use Apple Maps Look Around?
Provided you are looking at Apple Maps data for a city or area that supports Look Around, here’s how you enter Look Around Mode:
- Open Apple Maps and navigate to an area you want to Look Around in.
- If the area support Look Around, you will see a small binoculars button appear in the lower-left corner of the map. Tap on this button.
- You will now see a circular binoculars icon has appeared in the center of the map. In the upper portion of the Apple Maps screen, you will see the Look Around imagery that the binoculars are looking at. You can drag this imagery around in virtually 360º by moving your finger along it.
- You can also pinch to zoom on this imagery to zoom in.
- You can also tap the expansion arrows in the Look Around imagery window to expand the Look Around images to full-screen.
- Finally, if you tap and drag the map below the Look Around imagery window, you can move the binoculars to a new street location and see the Look Around imagery for that location.
- To exit Look Around mode, tap the Done button in the Look Around window.
As you can see, using Apple Maps Look Around is pretty easy!
What Cities Offer Support For Apple Maps Look Around?
It’s important to note that Apple Maps Look Around isn’t available for every street across the globe. As of April 2023, Apple says Apple Maps Look Around is available in the following countries and cities:
- Andorra
- Atlanta, GA
- Australia
- Belgium
- Boston, MA
- Canada
- Chiba City, Japan
- Chicago, IL
- Denver, CO
- Detroit, MI
- Dublin, Ireland
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- France
- Fukuoka City, Japan
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Hiroshima City, Japan
- Houston, TX
- Israel
- Italy
- Kanazawa City, Japan
- Kawasaki City, Japan
- Kobe City, Japan
- Kyoto City, Japan
- Las Vegas, NV
- Liechtenstein
- London, United Kingdom
- Los Angeles, CA
- Luxembourg
- Miami, FL
- Nagoya City, Japan
- Netherlands
- New York, NY
- New Zealand
- Niigata City, Japan
- Oahu, HI
- Osaka City, Japan
- Philadelphia, PA
- Phoenix, AZ
- Portland, OR
- Portugal
- Sagamihara City, Japan
- Saitama City, Japan
- Sakai City, Japan
- San Diego, CA
- San Francisco Bay Area, CA
- San Marino
- Santa Cruz, CA
- Sapporo City, Japan
- Seattle, WA
- Sendai City, Japan
- Shizuoka City, Japan
- Singapore
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Takamatsu City, Japan
- Tokyo Metro, Japan
- Washington, DC
- Yokohama City, Japan
Keep in mind, though, that even though Apple lists some entire countries as having support for Apple Maps Look Around, it’s unlikely that every single street in the country offers Look Around imagery.
With iOS 17 being previewed soon at WWDC23, perhaps Apple will have some more Apple Maps improvements to show off soon.
