What you need to know
- Apple is expanding its Maps improvements.
- It is now starting surveys in Belgium and the Netherlands.
- Surveys will begin next month according to Apple's website.
Apple is expanding its surveying operations to improve its Apple Maps software in both Belgium and the Netherlands.
According to MacRumors:
Apple Maps vehicles will begin surveying Belgium and the Netherlands during June, according to a list of locations maintained on Apple's website.The data collected will be used to improve Apple Maps and to expand its Look Around feature, which remains limited to a handful of U.S. cities. Introduced in iOS 13, Look Around is similar to Google's Street View, providing a street-level view of supported locations with high-resolution 3D imagery that can be zoomed and panned.
In January, Apple finished the rollout of its improvements to mapping across America featuring privacy improvements, more detail, and improved transit features. From that report:
Beyond the privacy, new features like Look Around — imagine Google's Street View but with video-game level silky smoothness — mesh with original features like Fly Over to create what I can only call a quasi-entertainment and educational feature.
At the time Eddy Cue, SVP of internet services and software at Apple said:
We look forward to bringing this new map to the rest of the world starting with Europe later this year.
The addition of Belgium and the Netherlands means these improvements will follow in these countries also and adds to Apple's growing list which includes the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, Italy, France, and Spain. Apple usually uses vehicles for its surveying, however as MacRumors notes it has also been known to use employees wearing backpack systems where this isn't feasible.
