Apple boosts Maps with 20 new Flyover locations from around the world

By Trevor Mogg August 12, 2015

apple boosts maps with 20 new flyover locations from around the world — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Apple Maps’ messy start was so long ago now that most people no longer give it a second thought. The company promised to sort it out and over the last couple of years has invested heavily in knocking the app into shape.

It now serves some five billion requests a week, evidence if ever there was that the tech giant has put its Maps woes well and truly behind it.

Continuing with its efforts to add features and content to the service, the company recently added new Flyover content for 20 locations around the world.

New cities include Rapid City, SD; Turin, Italy; Nice and Strasbourg, France; Malmo and Gothenburg, Sweden; Rotterdam, Netherlands; and Sapporo, Japan. Imagery has also been added for Omaha Beach in France, scene of a fierce battle toward the end of World War II and depicted in Spielberg’s 1998 movie Saving Private Ryan.

Similar to the 3D content in Google Earth, as well as in Earth View mode in Maps, Flyover offers iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users 3D aerial views of major cities and landmarks, allowing you to explore in detail by zooming, tilting, panning, and rotating the imagery.

Flyover now features 3D views for 168 locations around the world – you can check out the full list of places here.

Back on terra firma, Apple revealed recently it’s sending out camera-equipped vehicles to locations around the world to capture imagery from the road in what could be early efforts to build a global database of panoramic content similar to Google’s Street View.

In further efforts to enhance its app, public transit directions covering trains, buses, and the subway will be rolling out soon for a limited number of cities with iOS 9, as well as an improved business search tool.

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Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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