Apple launched Apple Maps for the web five months ago, but it was in beta and had limited features. As it gradually builds it up to become a serious competitor to Google Maps, Apple has now added Look Around, its own version of Street View that lets you explore your surroundings via panoramic imagery collected by camera-equipped cars, 9to5Mac reported. Look Around launched for Apple Maps’ mobile and desktop versions in 2019, so it’s great to see that it’s finally made it to the web version.
You can use the Look Around feature on Apple Maps for the web by selecting the binoculars icon at the top right of the display. Similar to the Apple Maps desktop app, you click on the image to proceed along the street in a satisfyingly smooth way, or drag the picture around to survey your surroundings. When you launch it, the Look Around view only takes up a portion of the display, so as you move along the street, you can check the binoculars icon to keep track of your current position. You can also go full-screen by selecting the arrows on the Look Around viewer.
To change your location, simply drag the map to place the binoculars icon in a new spot and then take it from there.
The Look Around feature for Apple Maps on the web works well, though not all locations are supported. You can tell if it’s available by zooming into a particular place and seeing if the binocular icon darkens. If it does, you’re good to go. Try it in major cities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan, and more. You can find a full list of supported locations on Apple’s website.
Look Around is a great feature, but one notable advantage that Google’s Street View has over it is the historical imagery feature that lets you go back in time to see how a particular location has changed over the years. Google has been able to incorporate this in a lot of places because it’s been visiting spots multiple times since it started gathering Street View data in 2005. Apple started gathering Look Around data in 2015, so it could launch a similar feature in the future if it’s returning to locations multiple times.
While Google Maps has long been the go-to map tool for many folks, Apple Maps has made significant improvements in recent years and also offers some advantages over its competitor, particularly in areas such as privacy as it gathers less personal data from its users.