Apple Maps is receiving a major update as a part of iOS 13. Apple has not only updated the app but also refreshed its data in a major way to ensure its mapping service is able to better compete with Google Maps. Among other things, Apple has added a Look Around feature which takes on Google’s Street View.
What is Look Around in Apple Maps? Where Is It Available?
Look Around in Apple Maps is similar to Street View in Google Maps. It provides one with 360-degree street imagery so you can explore an area right from your iPhone. Look Around is not going to be available for every street or location in Apple Maps. Its rollout is currently limited to a few cities in the United States, though Apple is working on expanding its availability to more cities across the world.
How to Use Look Around in Apple Maps on iPhone
To use Look Around, you will have to navigate to a location or city for which the Look Around data is available.
- Open Apple Maps and navigate to a city or a particular location of a city.
- If Look Around is available, you should see a Binoculars icon on the top-right corner. Tap on it and a Look Around card will pop up on the screen. You can use your finger to look around or tap on a specific area to navigate towards it.
- You can enter a full-screen mode in Look Around by tapping the icon on the top-left corner of the Look Around card.
You can also search for cities like San Francisco and you will get a Look Around button in the overlay card at the bottom. Since Look Around has only been rolled out to limited areas of interest, you can use this method to get an idea of how the feature works.
Look Around definitely feels more polish to use than Street View in Google Maps. However, the problem with Look Around is that its database is not as large as Street View and it is only going to be available in a limited number of cities across the world.
