Apple Maps Expands 3D Street View Feature to Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

As noted in the MacRumors forums, the new Look Around feature in Apple Maps recently went live in three more cities in the United States, including Boston, Philadelphia, and the Washington, D.C. area.

Introduced in iOS 13, Look Around is an interactive way to visually explore a city with 3D street-level imagery, similar to Google Street View. The feature is also available in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Las Vegas, Houston, and the Hawaiian island of Oahu, with many more places to come.

apple maps look around philadelphia boston
In an area 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. Look Around also appears in the search results for a supported city, below the Flyover and Directions buttons.

When you're in Look Around mode, tapping on the display lets you move through the area, while tapping in a far off spot in the distance zooms in quickly in a smoother and more immersive way than Google Street View.

To help orient you in Look Around mode, points of interest such as bars, restaurants, parks and the like are identified by floating icons at street level. Note, however, that you can only zoom into areas that can be accessed by vehicles since the Look Around data is captured by cars fitted with 360-degree cameras.

Related: How to Use Look Around in Apple Maps

Popular Stories

Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature

Apple Announces Special Event in New York, London, and Shanghai on March 4

Monday February 16, 2026 6:05 am PST by
Apple today announced a "special Apple Experience" in New York, London, and Shanghai, taking place on March 4, 2026 at 9:00am ET. Apple invited select members of the media to the event in three major cities around the world. It is simply described as a "special Apple Experience," and there is no further information about what it may entail. The invitation features a 3D Apple logo design...
M3 iPad Air

Apple's Next Two Products Are Coming Soon

Thursday February 12, 2026 11:17 am PST by
Apple plans to release an iPhone 17e and an iPad Air with an M4 chip "in the coming weeks," according to the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple retail employees say that inventory of the iPhone 16e has basically dried out and the iPad Air is seeing shortages as well," said Gurman. "I've been expecting new versions of both (iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air) in the coming weeks."...
Apple Sales Coach App

Apple Launching New 'Sales Coach' App

Friday February 13, 2026 2:01 pm PST by
Apple plans to launch a rebranded "Sales Coach" app on the iPhone and iPad later this month, according to a source familiar with the matter. "Sales Coach" will arrive as an update to Apple's existing "SEED" app, and it will continue to provide sales tips and training resources to Apple Store and Apple Authorized Reseller employees around the world. For example, there are articles and videos...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock

Five iPhone 18 Pro Features Revealed in New Report

Friday February 13, 2026 8:43 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still seven months away, an analyst has revealed five new features the devices will allegedly have. Rumored color options for the iPhone 18 Pro models In a research note with investment firm GF Securities on Thursday, analyst Jeff Pu outlined the following upgrades for the iPhone 18 Pro models: Smaller Dynamic Island: It has been rumored...
iOS 26 Home Feature

Three New Apple Home Products Rumored for 2026

Friday February 13, 2026 4:18 pm PST by
Apple has a long list of new products rumored for 2026, including a series of home products that will see the company establishing more of a presence in the smart home space. Robots are on the horizon for 2027, but the 2026 releases will be a little tamer. HomePod mini We're expecting a new HomePod mini 2 to launch at any time. Apple isn't going to update the device's design, but we could...

Top Rated Comments

CarlJ Avatar
78 months ago

Great quality. Much better than most of current Google Street View images. Funny thing that Google launched Street View in 2007. It took Apple 12 years to come up with something similar.
Uh, 12 years ago Apple wasn't in the mapping business.

How good were you at, say, reading or math, 5 years before you were born?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
78 months ago

Great quality. Much better than most of current Google Street View images. Funny thing that Google launched Street View in 2007. It took Apple 12 years to come up with something similar.
In 2007, Apple was busy unveiling a transformative device that changed the way we live, all the while protecting our privacy.

Some might say Google has yet to come up with something similar. ?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
r3econ Avatar
78 months ago
Great quality. Much better than most of current Google Street View images. Funny thing that Google launched Street View in 2007. It took Apple 12 years to come up with something similar.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bchery21 Avatar
78 months ago
With a radius that covers all the way out to Waltham it seems, nice!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
78 months ago

This is a fantastic new feature. Have to say I am disappointed that Apple is playing out the cliché by starting on both coasts and abandoning the middle of the country.
It‘s a practical decision - that’s where the population is higher. Get the feature to more people sooner that way. They’ll get the rest of the country before too long.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
78 months ago

Great quality. Much better than most of current Google Street View images. Funny thing that Google launched Street View in 2007. It took Apple 12 years to come up with something similar.
I suspect that has to do with Google and Apple's different business models. Google developed maps as a means to collect huge amounts of user data that could be used to sell ads, their core business, and thus was highly incentivized to get the ball rolling.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)