Apple's 3D Maps and Imagery See Incremental Improvements
Following last week's open letter from Tim Cook in which he promised that Apple "will keep working non-stop" until the iOS 6 Maps app meets customers' standards for quality, Apple has indeed been making improvements to the service. While there is certainly a ways to go, it is clear that the company is indeed moving quickly to address issues and improve coverage for the flagship 3D mapping and imagery features in the app.
While improvements have been ongoing, MacRumors forum members yesterday began noticing what appears to be a larger set of additions to the 3D content in the Maps app, including both the satellite/aerial imagery and the standard maps. One region that was among the first to be noticed was the New York City area, with a number of improvements including new 3D imagery of the Statue of Liberty being seen.
Old (left) and new (right) Flyover images of the Statue of LibertyWe've also heard from users who have experienced new Flyover imagery showing up in Honolulu, Hawaii and in the
San Fernando Valley in the Los Angeles area. The changes are also affecting the standard vector-based maps as well, with users reporting new 3D buildings showing up in New York City and London.
Interestingly, not all users are seeing the new imagery, with some even doing side-by-side comparisons between devices with different results. The difference is presumably due to aggressive caching of maps and imagery, and users who are not yet seeing the new imagery should see updates in the relatively near future.
Popular Stories
Apple is continuing to tweak the way that the Liquid Glass design looks ahead of the iOS 26 launch, and the latest beta makes a change to the Lock Screen.
The Lock Screen clock has been updated with additional transparency, allowing more of the background to peek through.
Beta 6 on left, beta 5 on right
The clock also has more of a 3D, floating look, which is in line with the rest of the ...
Apple's rumored new more affordable MacBook could have a starting price as low as $599 and launch as soon as this year, according to a new report out of Asia.
We first learned of Apple's low-cost MacBook plans in late June, when analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the company was developing a "more affordable" 13-inch laptop that would compete with Chromebooks and drive MacBook purchases, though he...
With iOS 26, Apple is bringing several new features to the AirPods, making them more useful than before. The added functionality will be available this fall when Apple releases iOS 26 and updated AirPods firmware, but you can test everything new right now.
Camera Remote
The AirPods can be used as a camera remote for the Camera app or third-party iOS camera apps. You'll need to enable the...
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro will have a starting price that is $50 more than the iPhone 16 Pro but it will come with a minimum 256GB of storage, doubling the base capacity compared to last year's model. The information comes from Chinese leaker Instant Digital, posting on Weibo. The account, which has 1.5 million followers, has now made the claim three separate times in recent weeks....
We're just about a month away from Apple's annual September event, and we're going to get a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra for the first time since 2023. There are some useful new features rumored for the Apple Watch Ultra 3, which we've summarized below.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Satellite Connectivity - The Apple Watch Ultra 3 will be the first...
It is now mid-August, meaning that Apple's annual iPhone event is just around the corner.
This year, Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17, the all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Here are some of the key rumors for those devices:iPhone 17: Same design as iPhone 16, but with an A19 chip, a larger 6.3-inch display, an upgraded 24-megapixel front camera, ...
