Apple Maps Expands 3D Street View Feature to Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple Maps Expands 3D Street View Feature to Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

As noted in the MacRumors forums, the new Look Around feature in Apple Maps recently went live in three more cities in the United States, including Boston, Philadelphia, and the Washington, D.C. area.

Introduced in iOS 13, Look Around is an interactive way to visually explore a city with 3D street-level imagery, similar to Google Street View. The feature is also available in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Las Vegas, Houston, and the Hawaiian island of Oahu, with many more places to come.

apple maps look around philadelphia boston
In an area where Look Around is available, a binoculars icon will appear in the top-right corner of Apple Maps. Tapping that icon opens a street-level view in a card overlay at the top of the screen. Look Around also appears in the search results for a supported city, below the Flyover and Directions buttons.

When you're in Look Around mode, tapping on the display lets you move through the area, while tapping in a far off spot in the distance zooms in quickly in a smoother and more immersive way than Google Street View.

To help orient you in Look Around mode, points of interest such as bars, restaurants, parks and the like are identified by floating icons at street level. Note, however, that you can only zoom into areas that can be accessed by vehicles since the Look Around data is captured by cars fitted with 360-degree cameras.

Related: How to Use Look Around in Apple Maps

Popular Stories

ios 26 2 ads maps app

Apple Maps Ads Move Closer to Launch With iOS 26.5 Beta 2

Monday April 13, 2026 11:09 am PDT by
With the second beta of iOS 26.5, Apple is continuing to prepare for ads in the Apple Maps app. There's a new splash screen in the app that says it will display ads based on approximate location, current search terms, or a view of the map when searching. Ads will also be shown in the "Suggested Places" section that was added in the first beta. Apple says that advertising information is not...
Apple Maps General

iOS 26.5 Will Change Apple Maps in Two Ways

Saturday April 18, 2026 8:10 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.5 update for iPhones will include two changes to the Apple Maps app: local ads and a new "Suggested Places" section. Last month, Apple announced that ads are coming to the Apple Maps app on the iPhone and iPad in the U.S. and Canada starting "this summer," and there is evidence of Apple preparing for that within iOS 26.5's code. Apple says businesses in the U.S. and...
miami f1 apple maps

Apple Maps Gains Immersive 3D Experience of Miami F1 Grand Prix

Thursday April 23, 2026 4:20 am PDT by
Apple Maps has updated its "2026 Formula 1 Tracks Around the World" guide with a dedicated experience for the Miami F1 Gran Prix, which takes place on May 3 and will be streamed exclusively on Apple TV in the United States. The guide offers an immersive way to explore F1 circuits. It began with Albert Park in Australia, with more 3D circuit experiences to be added as the season progresses. ...

Top Rated Comments

CarlJ Avatar
81 months ago

Great quality. Much better than most of current Google Street View images. Funny thing that Google launched Street View in 2007. It took Apple 12 years to come up with something similar.
Uh, 12 years ago Apple wasn't in the mapping business.

How good were you at, say, reading or math, 5 years before you were born?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
81 months ago

Great quality. Much better than most of current Google Street View images. Funny thing that Google launched Street View in 2007. It took Apple 12 years to come up with something similar.
In 2007, Apple was busy unveiling a transformative device that changed the way we live, all the while protecting our privacy.

Some might say Google has yet to come up with something similar. 😁
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
r3econ Avatar
81 months ago
Great quality. Much better than most of current Google Street View images. Funny thing that Google launched Street View in 2007. It took Apple 12 years to come up with something similar.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bchery21 Avatar
81 months ago
With a radius that covers all the way out to Waltham it seems, nice!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
81 months ago

This is a fantastic new feature. Have to say I am disappointed that Apple is playing out the cliché by starting on both coasts and abandoning the middle of the country.
It‘s a practical decision - that’s where the population is higher. Get the feature to more people sooner that way. They’ll get the rest of the country before too long.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
81 months ago

Great quality. Much better than most of current Google Street View images. Funny thing that Google launched Street View in 2007. It took Apple 12 years to come up with something similar.
I suspect that has to do with Google and Apple's different business models. Google developed maps as a means to collect huge amounts of user data that could be used to sell ads, their core business, and thus was highly incentivized to get the ball rolling.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Related Apple News: Iphone | Entertainment | Iphone | Local News | South Africa