Apple Posts Gyroscope-Friendly Panorama of Grand Central Retail Store Opening

As noted by The Next Web, Apple has posted a 360-degree panorama of its new Grand Central Terminal retail store on opening day, showing the large crowds and the new store in the context of the massive terminal building. The panorama supports gyroscope input on compatible iOS devices, allowing users to experience the panorama simply by rotating the device.

The panorama is accessible by visiting Apple's Grand Central retail store page and tapping on the "View More Photos" link on the featured store photo. The panorama is the final image in the gallery, and can be navigated by gyroscope on newer iPhone and iPad devices and by clicking/tapping and dragging on other devices.

grand central panorama
The gyroscope-supported panorama is a new inclusion for Apple on its site, adding a new immersive experience for site visitors right from the mobile Safari browser.

Mobile Safari was updated to support gyroscope input late last year with iOS 4.2, and developers quickly began taking advantage of the new capabilities once they became publicly known. Occipital was among the first developers to integrate the functionality, using it in its popular 360 Panorama app to allow users to view panoramic photographs in the same way Apple has now done with its Grand Central panorama.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Update for iPhones Coming Soon — Here's What to Expect

Thursday September 25, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. MacRumors has also seen evidence of iOS 26.0.1 in its visitor logs in recent days. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Friday September 26, 2025 6:57 am PDT by
In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...

Top Rated Comments

rdowns Avatar
180 months ago
This is cool and all but can Apple please just focus on the iPhone 5. I don't think anyone was really wanted this.


Another outstanding contribution to the site. Thank you.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
42streetsdown Avatar
180 months ago
That's a well done stitch. I wonder how many cameras they used.

----------

This is cool and all but can Apple please just focus on the iPhone 5. I don't think anyone was really wanted this.

Haha their retail devision operates separately from their engineering teams. And let's be honest, they have enough money to run as many concurrent projects as they want.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrockm01 Avatar
180 months ago
Too bad they don't release the panorama feature hidden in iOS 5
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ToddJ Avatar
180 months ago
Why can't they enable the gyroscope for Google street view?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newyorksole Avatar
180 months ago
I'm in 1 of the pictures!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
180 months ago
I’ve used the accelerometer in HTML pages before to do some fun stuff, and it boggles my mind that it works on iOS and not Android. It’s a proposed standard--apparently led by two Google employees--it has a webkit syntax, and yet while Apple has supported for ages, as near as I can tell Android still doesn’t. Maybe with ICS? (Or whatever fraction of Android users actually get ICS... eventually.)

I hate to see a standard (or even a proposed one) just sit there when it could be implemented and doing cool things. Thank goodness Apple is around to push open, cross-platform standards for web apps. (Accelerometer being just one example of Apple leading with open browser technologies while Google/others lag behind or don’t bother.)

P.S. The app 360 Panorama is very cool for making accelerometer-enabled panoramas like this, which they host for you (no cost) on their site. My favorite panorama app so far—and the easiest to use. (But for distant shots: panos of rooms/nearby objects/moving people are always quite tricky.)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)