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Apple Rolls Out 3D Maps With Custom-Designed Landmarks in Washington, D.C. and San Diego [Updated]

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Apple today announced that a new 3D map of Washington, D.C. in the Apple Maps app will allow users to explore the city's landmarks and memorials, such as the World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The new mapping experience does not appear to be visible yet, but it likely will be soon.

apple maps 3d washington dc
Alongside the release of iOS 15 in September, Apple Maps gained new 3D maps with more detail and custom-designed landmarks in select cities, including Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and London. Apple said the 3D maps would be rolled out to additional cities later this year, including Philadelphia, San Diego, and Washington, D.C., and Apple previewed the feature in Washington, D.C. today in honor of Veterans Day.

Apple is honoring Veterans Day with special content in the App Store, Apple Books app, Apple TV app, and more. There is also a Veterans Day-themed Activity Challenge that Apple Watch users in the U.S. can complete by recording any workout for 11 minutes or longer today with the Workout app or any app that adds workouts to the Health app.

veterans day 2021 activity challenge
Apple CEO Tim Cook today tweeted that he is "grateful today and always for the dedication and service of our veterans and their families, and the invaluable experience they bring long after they have left the military, including here at Apple."

Update Nov 12 10:00 a.m.: The new 3D map experience is live not only in Washington, D.C., but also in San Diego.

Tags: Activity Challenge, Apple Maps, Veterans Day

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Top Rated Comments

A
Altivec88
56 months ago
1 more down and only 3 billion places to go. I live in a major North American city and still don't have 3D maps, what now, a decade since Apple introduced 3d Maps. Not sure how Google was able to 3Dize the world so quickly and Apple is just proud to release a new 3D city a few times a year. Forstall Took the brunt of this but what is the excuse now?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Crash0veride Avatar
Crash0veride
56 months ago
So by the time they actually release a large number of cities, the majority will be completely out of date.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kirky29 Avatar
kirky29
56 months ago
Ah, couple of monuments done. Maps team can take the rest of the year off! Good work guys!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ Avatar
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
56 months ago
Very lovely! 3D Maps, it’s only getting better.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SBlue1 Avatar
SBlue1
56 months ago
What's the point of releasing just one city each quarter? Is there just one part time designer working on this??? What is Apples goal? To have all of the 32 NFL cities covered by the end of the decade?! They should release ten cities across the world each day! How hard is it to pay a whole team of artists to speed things up. Pathetic.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J
joesegh
56 months ago

1 more down and only 3 billion places to go. I live in a major North American city and still don't have 3D maps, what now, a decade since Apple introduced 3d Maps. Not sure how Google was able to 3Dize the world so quickly and Apple is just proud to release a new 3D city a few times a year. Forstall Took the brunt of this but what is the excuse now?
Do you even use Apple Maps? Every place in the US has 3D buildings now, including small towns, and has since Apple rolled out the new map from 2018-2020. 3D buildings are available everywhere the new map is, which presently includes Canada, the UK, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. They are not as fast at rolling out the new map I and many Apple Maps fans would hope, but that's unrelated to this update.

What is being released today are more detailed 3D models and the new "city experience" and yes, they are only available in now five metros (NYC, LA, SF, London, and now DC). Google Maps similarly has more details maps of some cities, which for example will have detailed crosswalk info, but that is also relatively uncommon (Google has it in NYC, not in DC, for example).

Here's info on the "equivalent" Google feature, and it only covers four metros presently: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/10311344?hl=en
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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