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Look Around, an Apple Maps feature introduced in iOS 13, has today rolled out in some cities in Japan, allowing for a close-up street-level view of various locations and landmarks. Look Around is available in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya.

tokyolookaround.jpg

The new feature was noticed by Ata Distance, who also says some areas like Yoyogi Park and Meiji Shrine now feature the Apple Maps 2.0 data with more information.

Apple introduced Look Around with iOS 13, but it has been limited to a handful of cities like Boston, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and more.

Apple is slowly introducing Look Around in more cities, with a list of where Look Around can be found available on Apple's website. Note that Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka have not yet been added to the list.

Update: Justin O'Beirne, who often shares details on updates made in Apple Maps, took a look at the new map updates in Japan, which show new detail added to Apple Maps across the country.

The blog post features before and after shots that give a clear picture of how Apple Maps changed, better highlighting parks, trees, landmarks, waterways, walking paths, and more. It's well worth checking out if you want to see the difference.

Article Link: Apple Maps Gains Look Around in Some Japanese Cities [Updated]
 
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wood1208

macrumors 6502
Aug 30, 2015
365
240
I admit, long time user of happy Google map now converted to Apple Map and when I insisted to try to my both millennium kids, now moved to Apple Map.Can't believe better than Google map. Apple Map came long long way as formidable competitor, replacement to Google map. Apple comes from behind and do better. History repeats itself in Apple's case.
 

Having Trouble Sneezing

macrumors newbie
Aug 4, 2020
2
0
Dagnabbit! How about finishing California before going everywhere else?

California, especially the Bay Area, has been iterated on over and over for years with each release. I’m glad this is improving in the rest of the country and the world.

I’ve used the Maps app in a lot of countries including Japan and it was definitely lacking over the past few years. It’s finally time for some other regions to get to see a better alternative.
 

trim

macrumors newbie
Aug 1, 2020
14
39
UK
Dagnabbit! How about finishing California before going everywhere else?

Apple Maps is already miles ahead in the US compared to the rest of the world. It was the same for Google Maps for a while but they have made a concerted effort to improve.

It's great to see them focusing on a market outside of their home market, especially one like Japan with high smartphone adoption and a high iOS market share. If they want to have better usage numbers and trust of their service, they need to improve their service globally, not just at home.

Also they can work on improving more than one location at a time.
 
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szw-mapple fan

macrumors 68040
Jul 28, 2012
3,481
4,342
Gross! That stuff is full of sugar and salt. It's about the worst fast food you can get in Japan.
Sure it's the food of drunken salarymen, but they don't know any better!

Ramen on the other hand...
Looks like you’ve yet to have proper gyudon :rolleyes:.
 
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Charles50

macrumors member
Feb 2, 2013
82
157
I looked around, they don't have a Look Around inside Meiji Jingu itself, just the areas around it, mostly Harajuku and Yoyogi. I went down some alleys around Harajuku and could window shop easily. Most of the stores were marked and had web links. Cool.
 

travelsheep

macrumors 6502a
May 30, 2013
918
1,057
OMG Japan looks so cute, interesting, and so clean. As if there is sanity on the planet ... but we all know there isn't...
 

MacBH928

macrumors G3
May 17, 2008
8,327
3,719
Why does Apple bother with maps? I don't see how they make money from it, google maps is better, at least google suck your data and sell it.

I am happy to get a more privacy oriented non-google product, but I just don't see how this makes sense to them.
 

Charles50

macrumors member
Feb 2, 2013
82
157
OMG Japan looks so cute, interesting, and so clean. As if there is sanity on the planet ... but we all know there isn't...

Oh those areas of Harajuku and Yoyogi are the cutest places on earth. I was going down some narrow streets, I saw some Maid outfit suppliers, a lot of girly makeup boutiques, etc. Click on the store markers to see a web link, if you dare, but this place is an intersection of a lot of street cultures. Some groups hang out in the park and have their celebrations of being whatever.
 

Charles50

macrumors member
Feb 2, 2013
82
157
If the article refers to a page on Apple's website, a direct link would be handy.

It's not like something you can link to. It's a Maps.app feature on the iPhone. I'll show you to a rather nice spot. I think this requires at least an iPhone X, I have an Xs, I am not sure if previous models can run the "look around" feature. Anyway, you will see a little binoculars symbol in areas where you can use Look Around. So launch Maps.app on your iPhone and search for "Yoyogi Park Fountain". When you see the map of the area, tap the binoculars icon, you will see a beautiful little spot in the park. Oh the cherry blossoms are blooming, its beautiful. From there you can use the split screen to drag your street view around, or just tap on the street view where you want to go. I have haptic feedback on my Xs, it makes a little bump when I go out of bounds where there's no data to Look Around, and bumps again when it's available. You can go full screen and just wander around the park or the city areas near it in Harajuku.
 

smoking monkey

macrumors 68020
Mar 5, 2008
2,335
1,468
I HUNGER
Looks like you’ve yet to have proper gyudon :rolleyes:.

If by proper gyudon you mean YN, then unfortunately I've had it! Probably 5 times I have relented because of time constraints and it was convenient, but every time I swore never again.

Now if we're talking authentic gyudon I've had it more times than I care to remember, but now I only ever have it spicy with genmai instead of white rice.

As for the maps, I think this is great that they are adding these features. It's about time. I just wish Apple Maps would hurry up and get as comprehensive as Google Maps because I far prefer the interface of Apple Maps.
 

patent10021

macrumors 68040
Apr 23, 2004
3,504
792
Noticed this today in Osaka. I was wondering where the binoculars icon came from.

The quality of these Look Arounds is......top-notch. hehehe
 
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