Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
66,558
35,798


Apple today announced that it has expanded its updated Apple Maps app to Australia, with Maps now offering more detailed road coverage, improved navigation, three-dimensional landmarks, and improved views of parks, buildings, airports, shopping centers, and more.

apple-maps-australia.jpg
"Apple Maps is the best way to explore and navigate the world, all while protecting your privacy. We are excited to bring this experience to even more users with today's rollout in Australia," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Services. "The map has been rebuilt from the ground up, with better navigation, richer detail, more accurate information for places, and remarkable features that only Apple can deliver, like Look Around, Share ETA, and more. Now it is easier than ever for users to find the places they love and get to where they're going."
Apple Maps users in Australia can access features like lane guidance, speed camera alerts, information about accidents and road hazards, accident reporting, and the Share ETA feature.

Apple has been working to expand its updated Maps experience worldwide after first introducing the new look in iOS 13. Apple's redesigned Maps app became available across the United States in January 2020, and since then, Apple has brought it to Canada, Ireland and the UK, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

Apple confirmed that it was working to bring the revamped Maps app to Australia back in June, so the expansion has been in the works for some time.

Along with the updated Maps look, Apple Maps in Australia is gaining support for Look Around, which provides interactive street-level imagery with high-resolution 3D photography. The Maps app also features immersive walking directions available in augmented reality and Guides, a feature provides a curated list of places to eat, shop, and explore.

Article Link: Apple Rolls Out Updated Maps Interface in Australia
 
I’ve got a friend living in Canberra, I’ll have to let her know about this and see what she thinks about the update.
 
I’ve got a friend living in Canberra, I’ll have to let her know about this and see what she thinks about the update.
Good old Canberra, the forgotten capital. I can confirm that the fancy flyover feature does not work for Canberra. Sydney looks great though!
 
Great, now let’s hope they do it for Mexico. It’s right next door to the US, it’s visited by lots of americans and has the world’s largest population of americans living outside their country. Yet Apple Maps is missing so many features for the region that it’s barely usable and all those people have to use Google Maps instead.
 
Sadly these things Apple takes forever to roll-out, just like ECG or Apple Pay, you’re looking at several years to reach a majority of markets.

Sometimes it’s like they’re either short-staffed, dragging their feet or plainly don’t care.
 
What does Apple call this newest highly detailed "cartoony" version of Maps?


Screen Shot 2021-12-09 at 7.52.25 PM.png


So far, that I can tell, it's only available in San Francisco? Their "updated Maps interface" from two iOS versions ago still hasn't been rolled out around the world and they're already releasing a new version in this one city. This could get messy, if they don't catch up.
 
Sadly these things Apple takes forever to roll-out, just like ECG or Apple Pay, you’re looking at several years to reach a majority of markets.
Sometimes it’s like they’re either short-staffed, dragging their feet or plainly don’t care.
Apple releases Apple Maps 1.0 (or any buggy OS release): "Apple needs to stop pushing out half-baked OS releases just to meet some arbitrary launch date!!"

Apple releases software when it's ready: "Why hasn't Apple released this yesterday? Don't they care?"
 
What does Apple call this newest highly detailed "cartoony" version of Maps?


View attachment 1925881

So far, that I can tell, it's only available in San Francisco? Their "updated Maps interface" from two iOS versions ago still hasn't been rolled out around the world and they're already releasing a new version in this one city. This could get messy, if they don't catch up.

Also available in Cupertino as I should've expected.

Screen Shot 2021-12-09 at 8.00.09 PM.png


New York, LA and London also have it.

Screen Shot 2021-12-09 at 8.07.04 PM.png


Unlike the "updated Apple Maps interface" that Australia just got, this newest version of Maps looks to have been populated by a human, rather than an airplane LiDAR and an algorithm.

Maybe this is what Project Titan is about. Apple needs thousands of self driving cars roaming the streets of major cities constantly scanning the environment and updating Maps. These virtual worlds, or Metaverse as Mark Zuckerberg likes to call it, will be an incredibly important aspect of Augmented Reality, which from what we've seen so far, is the future of Apple.
 
Flyover works. It's been there since last year I think. I'm on the latest iOS version.
Ah… So it's no better than it was before?

Okay, I've just checked Rottnest Island and compared it to Apple's new screenshot, and mine does not look like the new one. So I guess I'm in the same boat as you after all.

I did notice that speed camera alerts started for us a month or two ago. Maybe they're rolling all these features out in bits and pieces? ?‍♂️
 
  • Like
Reactions: ivantheipodder
Ah… So it's no better than it was before?

Okay, I've just checked Rottnest Island and compared it to Apple's new screenshot, and mine does not look like the new one. So I guess I'm in the same boat as you after all.

I did notice that speed camera alerts started for us a month or two ago. Maybe they're rolling all these features out in bits and pieces? 🤷‍♂️
Someone above said if you start a driving route it updates the maps. It worked for me, but still no 3D in modes other than Satellite (tried with Rottnest Island like the screenshot).

Edit: I could get 3D to work in modes other than Satellite by first choosing 3D in Satellite then pick other modes.
 
Last edited:
Unlike the "updated Apple Maps interface" that Australia just got, this newest version of Maps looks to have been populated by a human, rather than an airplane LiDAR and an algorithm.
It is! That's part of what's taking them so long to roll out the new City Experience. They discussed it a bit, I believe, in the WWDC keynote and noted they've got designers who are using the LiDAR and other mapping as a base, but then creating these new, animated or cartoony representations of major landmarks! I suspect Sydney, Australia, will get it sooner because of the high number of tourists from places like SF and London, plus all the major landmarks there that are perfect for this "upgrade" (just like NYC, SF, London, D.C.).
 
Sadly these things Apple takes forever to roll-out, just like ECG or Apple Pay, you’re looking at several years to reach a majority of markets.

Sometimes it’s like they’re either short-staffed, dragging their feet or plainly don’t care.
Remove the word "Sometimes".
They simply do not care.

IF they would care, they could fix this over 10 years old drama.
They do have the money.
They do know how to hire people and/or buy out complete companies who do this stuff.
They know how to get other companies do this stuff.

They prefer to talk and have another meeting, etc.

Now, if it was about an historical event, you could slowly get into more detail and go towards perfectionism, to have it fully covered, up to each and every tiny bit.
But this is real life, where roads are still being build, streets created, and infrastructure altered.
This is a never ending situation.
Just get over it, and buy some of these companies, or license their great works.
If you can do it with TomTom, why not do it with other companies?

I do not own one of the apps (yet) but if one person (https://apps.apple.com/us/developer/zuzana-hunadyova/id805769467)* can make it for several cities, how on earth is it impossible for a huge company like Apple to put some people on it?

It is beyond me that a huge company like Apple, which has so much money, and is talking about health and fitness, is not capable of making biking a feature in their application after over ten years!!!


*never heard of it, just did a quick search for this post
 
Sadly these things Apple takes forever to roll-out, just like ECG or Apple Pay, you’re looking at several years to reach a majority of markets.

Sometimes it’s like they’re either short-staffed, dragging their feet or plainly don’t care.
In Australia the delays for the ECG had nothing to do with Apple - it was our TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) that took its time being convinced it would work.
 
Interestingly:
- I note that the images used in my area in Brisbane are more than a year old.
- My house is 4.5 years old but is still not shown in the default map view
- The satellite view is still very low resolution compared to Google (and others)
- The satellite imagery is at least two years old (lots of construction in my area which doesn't show)
- No cycling directions
- Look Around is pretty slick .
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.