Apple Maps expands ‘Look Around’ feature in US

In areas where 'Look Around' is available, a binoculars icon will appear in the top-right corner of Apple Maps.

San Francisco: The ‘Look Around’ feature from Apple Maps has now been expanded to Phoenix, Arizona, providing 3D street-level imagery that is similar to Google’s Street View.

‘Look Around’ is a feature that was first introduced in iOS 13, but it was limited to a handful of cities at launch and it can now be used in 14 regions around the world, including San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Houston, London, New York, and Oahu, with a full list available on Apple’s website, reports MacRumors.

In areas where ‘Look Around’ is available, a binoculars icon will appear in the top-right corner of Apple Maps.

Tapping that icon opens a street-level view in a card overlay at the top of the screen, which can then be expanded to a full-screen view.

The feature works relatively similar to Google Street View, wherein the view can be changed by swiping the display, while tapping part of the road in the distance will move the camera to that point.

Instead of relying on third-party mapping services for its information, Apple has had its fleet of vans hit the road sporting cameras and sensors to develop its own in-house maps.