Following an announcement earlier in the year, Apple has begun rolling out a more updated and detailed version of its Apple Maps product in more parts of the United States this week.
The company teased earlier in the year that it had been working on revamping its Maps product, which still lags behind Google Maps and other rivals in terms of accuracy and available information.
In the most updated version of Apple Maps, the company offers updated buildings, parking lots, parks, roads, fields, foliage, pools, pathways, and water.
However, because the updated maps are more detailed than ever before, Apple has to use its own mapping vehicles, which are similar to those used by Google for Google Maps.
They come equipped with LIDAR sensors and cameras and have been spotted across the US.
Apple has reportedly been using these vehicles for several years to build up the necessary information required to update Maps, hence why it has been so long since a major update.
Earlier in the month, the company began testing an updated version of its Apple Maps product in select parts of the United States, and now those in the Central and Southeastern parts of the US, alongside Alaska, should notice the new Apple Maps content from today.
It has taken Apple longer than it had initially promised to update Apple Maps, following a controversial roll out when Apple Maps replaced Google Maps as the default mapping app on iOS.
Apple overhauled Apple Maps in iOS 12 and its latest update is the biggest change yet since the launch of the original software, offering a comparable experience to Google’s.
It’s unknown how long it will take Apple to complete the rollout of its new maps experience in the United States, or when it will bring updated maps versions to other parts of the world.
Popular territories including the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada will likely follow in 2020 and more countries will be added to the list in the years ahead.
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