Apple Maps: turn-by-turn GPS, 3D Flyovers, Siri integration, traffic layers

Apple just unveiled the new Maps at WWDC in San Francisco, nuking Google Maps out of the orbit. It’s got everything a mapping app should have, including turn-by-turn GPS, voice commands and spoken directions, detailed traffic layers and of course that rumored three-dimensional view bound to knock your socks off…

Apple’s new Maps app finally supports turn-by-turn navigation. It’s got Yelp integrate in it and features over a hundred million business listings right off the bat.

Designed by Apple from the ground up, Maps gives you turn-by-turn spoken directions, interactive 3D views, and the stunning Flyover feature.1 All of which may just make this app the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever.

Here’s turn-by-turn in action.

But Apple isn’t stopping there. The new Maps features useful incident reports.

We’re also building a traffic service.

This is what traffic incidents look like.

What Apple meant by “building a traffic service” is that they’re collecting anonymous, real-time, crowd-source data on the traffic conditions.

Coupled with turn-by-turn navigation, you can now be alerted if a faster route is available due to traffic conditions and these alerts can appear even on the lock screen.

And of course, the new Maps app enables voice features through Siri integration.

You can ask questions like where can I get gas.

Uh-oh, goodbye Google Maps.

As for the new 3D view, it’s called Flyover.

Forstall noted it’s an eye-candy.

Now a really fun feature that we’re adding to our app is something called flyover.

And here it is in action on the iPhone.

This is all being rendered in real-time, mind you.

We’ve been building up 3D models of cities around the world.

If I were Google, I’d be very concerned.

And this is what the breathtaking Flyover mode in the new Maps looks like on the iPad.

You can rotate to see sides of buildings, switch between 2D and 3D modes and access the usual satellite imagery.

Best of all, it looks like the new Maps app will provide directions and local search for countries outside of the United States, and so would Siri.

Was it everything you hoped for?