Apple adds iOS Maps Flyover support, 3D buildings, turn-by-turn navigation in multiple cities

Flyover view of Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany.

As reported by The Loop, Apple is continually updating its mapping service and has recently added a number of new cities that support the company's proprietary 3D Flyover view.

New cities to offer Flyover support:

• Modesto, CA
• Stockton, CA
• Indianapolis, IN
• Baltimore, MD
• Minneapolis, MN
• Portland, ME
• Albany, NY
• Buffalo, NY
• Cleveland, OH
• Tulsa, OK
• Providence, RH
• Green Bay, WI
• Vancouver, BC
• Cologne, Germany
• Glasgow, Scotland

Expanded Flyover coverage in cities with existing support:

• Birmingham, AL
• Boston, MA
• Portland, OR
• Houston, TX
• Toronto, ON
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• London, England
• Lyon, France
• Berlin, Germany
• Munich, Germany
• Rome, Italy
• Barcelona, Spain
• Madrid, Spain
• Stockholm, Sweden

In addition to the enhanced Flyover support, Apple has extended 3D building renderings for locations that do not yet have access to the feature.

Apple also updated a number of Chinese assets, including a new coloring scheme, Chinese character readability, point of interest tweaks, and road network changes. Other improvements include expanded international points of interest with new iconography and more accurate address data.

It was reported in February that job listings pointed to ongoing development of Apple's mapping platform, with hires including software engineers and, more recently, fact checkers.

The company is working hard to rectify a shaky launch in September 2012 that drew the ire of users around the world, who complained of multiple inaccuracies, poor implementation of the Flyover feature and various usability issues. Compounding the problem was Apple's decision to ditch Google Maps, which powered iOS Maps until iOS 6, a move that left iOS device users without familiar features like Google's Street View and public transit times.