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

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.

Popular Stories

iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

These 5 Apple Products Will Reportedly Be Upgraded With OLED Displays

Friday January 16, 2026 7:07 pm PST by
Apple plans to upgrade the iPad mini, MacBook Pro, iPad Air, iMac, and MacBook Air with OLED displays between 2026 and 2028, according to DigiTimes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that the iPad mini and MacBook Pro will receive an OLED display as early as this year, but he does not expect the MacBook Air to adopt the technology until 2028 at the earliest. A new iPad Air is...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, Macs, and More

Thursday January 15, 2026 11:19 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the United States, according to the company's website. Most of the values declined slightly, but some of the Mac values increased. iPhone ...
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

Apple Plans to Expand iPhone Driver's Licenses to These 7 U.S. States

Friday January 16, 2026 12:12 pm PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
iOS 27 Mock Quick

iOS 27 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday January 18, 2026 3:51 pm PST by
iOS 27 is still many months away, but there are already plenty of rumors about new features that will be included in the software update. The first beta of iOS 27 will be released during WWDC 2026 in June, and the update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in September. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense...

Top Rated Comments

Altivec88 Avatar
55 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
55 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
55 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
55 months ago
Very lovely! 3D Maps, it’s only getting better.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SBlue1 Avatar
55 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)
joesegh Avatar
55 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)