Apple Maps gets a big upgrade in six European countries

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple has announced a big upgrade to its Maps apps and service in a number of European countries. The move means that Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia all now have upgraded maps.

Those upgraded maps include new 3D models, improved navigation options, Flyover, and more. The new maps are all available today.

Mac, iPhone, and iPad users can now enjoy the new maps across all of their devices and join a growing number of countries now benefiting from the upgrades.

New and improved maps

Apple announced the new maps via a press release, adding that "with faster and more accurate navigation; comprehensive views of roads, buildings, parks, airports, and shopping centers; and three-dimensional landmarks like Wiener Riesenrad in Austria, Pula Arena in Croatia, and Buda Castle in Hungary, it is now easier and more enjoyable to map out any journey." The press release was first spotted by MacRumors.

The improvements offered by the new maps include Look Around, giving people a high-res view of places before they go while Flyover "offers a way to see select major metro areas with photo-realistic, immersive 3D views."

Indoor maps are also supported for things like stores and restaurants, with a hugely improved navigational experience displaying speed cameras, improved directions, and more.

All of these features are offered on everything from Apple's best iPhone to the iPad and even the MacBook Air. If it's an Apple device with updated software, these features will be available. Apple CarPlay will even benefit, too.

“Apple Maps is the best way to explore and navigate the world, all while protecting your privacy. We are excited to bring this experience to even more users with the new features we’re rolling out today,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services. He went on to say that “Maps has been rebuilt from the ground up, with better navigation, richer detail, more accurate information for places, and remarkable features that only Apple can deliver, like Look Around, Natural Language Guidance, and more. Now it is easier than ever for users to find the places they love and get to where they’re going.”

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.