Apple has expanded availability of the Look Around, Nearby and public transit directions features on its mapping service, with updates now live in a bunch of new markets.
Public transit expansions
As noted by MacRumors, live public transport information with turn-by-turn directions now covers the whole of Canada, England, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden and Wales, as well as 32 metropolitan regions in Australia, China and the United States. As a bonus, 45 additional airports have been added to indoor maps, including Madrid, Prague and Istanbul airports.
Nearby expansions
The Nearby feature is now available in these countries:
- Argentina
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- El Salvador
- Greece
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Italy
- Macau
- Mexico
- Montserrat
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Republic of Korea
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Spain
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Turkey
- Vietnam
The Nearby feature allows the user to search for businesses that are located near their current location, such as food, entertainment, gas stations and so forth.
TUTORIAL: How to search along your route with Apple Maps
To find nearby places, tap the search field in the Maps app and you’ll see the available categories in your area. Now select a category and make your pick.
Look Around expansions
Look Around is available in an additional ten cities in the United States:
- Boston
- Chicago
- Houston
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- New York
- Oahu
- Philadelphia
- San Francisco
- Washington
Turn-by-turn navigation
- Aland Islands
- Anguilla
- Aruba
- Bahamas
- Bermuda
- Bonaire
- British Virgin Islands
- Cayman Islands
- Chile
- China
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Greece
- Grenada
- Haiti
- Jamaica
- Martinique
- Montserrat
- Palestinian Territories
- St. Barth
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Uruguay
Look Around is a feature that the Apple Maps team has been developing for years by conducting ground surveys with vehicles around the world to collect high resolution street-level photography to support the Look Around feature. Look Around is similar to Street View on Google Maps, only with much smoother transitions.
TUTORIAL: How to enjoy street-level views with Apple Maps Look Around
To use Look Around, find a supported city in the Maps app and tap the Look Around button on a map or information card (the button depicts a set of binoculars). You can now drag a finger left or right to change your view, tap the scene to move forward, pinch open or closed to zoom in or out, enter fullscreen mode and more.
Apple’s Feature Availability page
Apple has confirmed these expansions on its iOS and iPadOS Feature Availability webpage.
“In many of cases, these features have been available in the listed locations for a few weeks, but Apple is often slow to confirm with updates to its Feature Availability page,” says MacRumors.