Apple has rolled out the latest Apple Maps improvements to its customers in Germany and Singapore, including 3D landmarks, street-level photography, improved navigation, more detailed road coverage and other perks.
- Apple’s “all-new Maps experience” has launched in Germany and Singapore
- Singapore is the first Asian country to get refreshed Maps data
- It includes more detailed road coverage, better navigation, etc
New Apple Maps now available in Germany and Singapore
Outward-facing improvements include three-dimensional landmarks for certain locations, the Look Around feature in some cities, improved navigation, expanded road coverage, natural language guidance, as well as more detailed views of buildings, pools, bodies of water, pedestrian pathways, airports, parks, foliage, sports fields, shopping malls and other points of interest. In Singapore, Maps now includes 3D landmarks of locations like Gardens by the Bay and Tiong Bahru Market. In Germany, 3D landmarks include the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag building, the Berlin TV Tower, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Neuschwanstein Castle.
Apple’s iOS Feature Availability webpage did not officially acknowledge at post time that the latest Apple Maps experience was available to customers in Germany and Singapore. We’ve learned about this expansion through Justin O’Beirne, who dutifully tracks and documents all major Apple Maps improvements. Apple has since acknowledged that the new Maps features have launched in those countries via press releases published through its local websites in Germany and Singapore.
“Apple Maps is the best way to explore and navigate the world, all while protecting your privacy,” Apple’s services boss Eddy Cue was quoted as saying. “We are excited to bring this experience to even more users with today’s rollout.”
According to a post on the Justin O’Beirne website, features like expanded road coverage, 3D landmarks and other aforementioned improvements now cover 18.4 percent of Earth’s land area and 8.5 percent of the global population. The post notes that Apple is most likely to launch its latest mapping data in France and Monaco.
Apple began rebuilding its mapping service in 2018 around fresh new data captured by its specialized vehicles packed with sensors that could be seen roaming the streets of cities around the world. This has enabled the company to bring new features to Apple Maps, including a Google Street View-like feature, dubbed Look Around, that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world. Read: How to customize Apple Maps on iPhone, iPad and Mac
The new Maps experience finished rolling out to all customers in the US by the start of 2020. In the ensuing years, the much-improved experience arrived in other major markets including the United Kingdom and Australia. According to O’Beirne, Germany and Singapore are the twelfth and thirteenth countries to receive the latest Apple Maps data. Read: How to use the route planner feature in Apple Maps on Mac