Following news that Apple Maps is now used three times as often on iOS as Google Maps, Apple on Wednesday added eight locations in the U.S., Mexico and Europe to its rolling list of Flyover-supported areas.
Flyover view of Pomplona, Spain.
The latest locales to get Apple's top-down 3D view treatment include major cities and high-traffic destinations like Detroit, Mich., and Pittsburgh, Pa., as well as cultural hotspots like Pamplona, Spain.
The entire list of new Flyover locations from Apple's official iOS 9 Feature Availability webpage:
- Detroit, MI
- Mazatlán, Mexico
- Monument Valley, AZ
- Münster, Germany
- Pamplona, Spain
- Pensacola, FL
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Utrecht, Netherlands
Flyover is a tentpole Apple Maps feature that sets the service apart from competitors. To achieve the interactive 3D view, Apple collects and overlays high-resolution imagery on top of computer generated three-dimensional digital models of buildings, landmarks and other topographical features. These same assets power Flyover city tours, which take users on guided excursions of major metropolitan cities and tourist destinations like London, Paris and New York.
It was revealed on Monday that Apple Maps is now being used three times as often on iOS as its closest rival, Google Maps. Apple says the service handles more than five billion Maps-related queries per week.
Apple Maps continues to evolve after a less-than-stellar launch in 2012. Alongside feature enhancements and bug fixes, Apple has made numerous acquisitions and hires toward building out the in-house mapping product. Most recently, transit directions were added in iOS 9.
Looking ahead, Apple might be working to bring street-level imagery to Maps, as the company has deployed fleets of camera- and sensor-laden mapping vans in the U.S., England and France.