Flyover (Apple Maps)

Flyover was announced along with Apple Maps at the WWDC 2012, and was also released alongside Maps in September 2012.{{Cite web|url=https://localsplash.com/apple-announces-new-maps-app-at-wwdc-2012?noRedirect=true|title=Apple Announces New Maps App at WWDC 2012|date=11 June 2012 |publisher=Local Splash|accessdate=12 September 2023}} The 10 initial cities that first received Flyover were Chicago, Copenhagen, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle and Sydney.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cultofmac.com/173690/here-all-all-the-cities-you-can-flyover-in-ios-6-maps-gallery/|title=Here All All The Cities You Can Flyover In iOS 6 Maps|date=14 June 2012 |publisher=Cult of Mac|accessdate=13 October 2023}} More cities would receive Flyover in later years, with Apple often adding multiple cities to Flyover at a time.{{Cite web|url=https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/08/apple-maps-flyover-updated-locations/|title=New Flyover and indoor maps locations now available in Apple Maps|publisher=9to5Mac|accessdate=12 September 2023}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.actualidadiphone.com/en/apple-adds-11-more-cities-to-flyover-on-its-maps/|title=Apple adds 11 more cities to Flyover on its maps|date=28 January 2015 |publisher=Actualidad iPhone|accessdate=12 September 2023}} In addition to this initial release, Apple added the feature to other cities later in the year, including Toronto in Canada.{{Cite web|url=https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2012/09/toronto-arrives-3d-apples-ios6.6393|title=Toronto Arrives in 3D in Apple's iOS6|publisher=Urban Toronto|accessdate=14 September 2023}}

In 2013, Flyover was added to Paris, as well as smaller cities such as Indianapolis and Baltimore, totalling 16 cities in the United States, Germany, Canada, France and the UK.{{Cite web|url=https://9to5mac.com/2014/01/15/apple-expands-3d-flyover-coverage-in-maps-to-cape-town-and-helsinki/|title=Apple expands 3D Flyover coverage in Maps to Cape Town and Helsinki|publisher=9to5Mac|accessdate=12 September 2023}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.loopinsight.com/2013/03/12/apples-maps-being-updated-often-and-significantly/|title=Apple's Maps being updated often and significantly|publisher=The Loop|accessdate=12 September 2023}} In addition, Flyover was also added to London, Barcelona, Cologne,{{Cite web|url=https://appleinsider.com/articles/13/03/13/apple-continues-rollout-of-flyover-support-3d-buildings-turn-by-turn-navigation-in-multiple-cities|title=Apple adds iOS Maps Flyover support, 3D buildings, turn-by-turn navigation in multiple cities|date=13 March 2013 |publisher=Apple Insider|accessdate=19 October 2023}} Rome, and Madrid,{{Cite web|url=https://gadgethelpline.com/apple-adds-flyover-3d-maps-15-cities-apple-maps/|title=Apple adds Flyover and 3D Maps to 15 new cities in Apple Maps|date=13 March 2013 |publisher=Gadget Helpline|accessdate=14 September 2023}} as well as the city of Vancouver, in Canada the same year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cultofmac.com/219490/apple-continues-to-bring-flyover-3d-buildings-to-more-cities-in-maps/|title=Apple Continues To Bring Flyover & 3D Buildings To More Cities In Maps|date=13 March 2013 |publisher=Cult of Mac|accessdate=7 October 2023}}

Flyover was added to several cities and national parks in New Zealand, France, the United States, South Africa, Sweden and Japan, including Cape Town and two Arizona National Parks in 2014,{{Cite web|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2014/12/05/apple-flyover-movie-showtimes/|title=Apple Adds New Flyover Locations to Maps, Siri Movie Showtimes in More Countries|date=5 December 2014 |publisher=MacRumors|accessdate=12 September 2023}} with Marseille, the second-largest city in France, receiving Flyover coverage later in the year as well. The capital of Japan, Tokyo, also received Flyover that year,{{Cite web|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/27/toyko-zion-national-park-flyover/|title=Tokyo, Zion National Park Added to Apple Maps Flyover Feature|date=27 June 2014 |publisher=MacRumors|accessdate=20 October 2023}} along with Wellington, New Zealand and Yosemite National Park.{{Cite web|last=Clover|first=Juli|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2014/08/19/yosemite-wellington-added-to-flyover/|title=Yosemite National Park and Wellington, New Zealand Added to Apple Maps Flyover Feature|date=19 August 2014 |publisher=MacRumors|accessdate=1 November 2023}} In addition, the City Tours feature, which allows users to tour locations supported by the Flyover feature, was also added around this time.{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Chris|url=https://news.yahoo.com/one-way-apple-maps-getting-better-google-maps-164025134.html|title=Here's one way Apple Maps is getting better than Google Maps|date=20 June 2014 |publisher=Yahoo News|accessdate=12 November 2023}}

South Africa, the only African nation to have Flyover, also first saw the feature with Cape Town in 2014, with Durban and Johannesburg receiving the feature in later years.{{Cite web|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2016/02/03/apple-20-new-flyover-locations/|title=Apple Adds 20 New Flyover Locations Around the World, New Maps Info in Taiwan and Finland|date=3 February 2016 |publisher=MacRumors|accessdate=12 September 2023}}

Flyover was added to over 20 cities and locations in 2015 in various cities mostly across the US and Western Europe, including Canberra and Venice.{{Cite web|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/30/apple-adds-20-flyover-locations-maps/|title=Apple Adds 20 New Flyover Locations to Maps|date=30 April 2015 |publisher=MacRumors|accessdate=12 September 2023}}{{Cite web|url=https://9to5mac.com/2015/02/24/apple-flyover-cities/|title=Apple adding 9 new 3D Flyover locations to Maps|publisher=9to5Mac|accessdate=12 September 2023}}{{Cite web|last=England|first=Lucy|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/new-apple-maps-flyover-locations-2015-9|title=New Apple Maps Flyover Locations|publisher=Business Insider|accessdate=23 March 2024}} Flyover was also added to Budapest, in Hungary{{Cite web|url=https://welovebudapest.com/en/article/2015/1/2/tour-budapest-in-3d-with-apple-maps-flyover-tour|title=Tour Budapest in 3D with Apple Maps – Flyover Tour|date=2 January 2015 |publisher=We Love Budapest|accessdate=14 September 2023}} and Prague and Brno in the Czech Republic later in the year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.letemsvetemapplem.eu/2023/09/24/macos-hry-ktere-nyni-stahnete-zcela-zdarma/#al1|title=Praha začala podporovat FlyOver v Apple Maps!|date=24 September 2023 |accessdate=24 September 2023}} In Italy, the cities of Florence and Genoa and Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany received Flyover that year as well.{{Cite web|last=Hunt|first=Gordon|url=https://www.siliconrepublic.com/life/apples-maps-3d-flyover-expand-to-cities-in-france-italy-japan-and-more|title=Apple's 3D Flyover maps expand to cities in Italy, Japan and beyond|date=29 September 2015 |publisher=Silicon Republic|accessdate=28 October 2023}}{{Cite web|last=McCormick|first=Rich|url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/9/29/9413583/apple-maps-3d-flyover-view-new-cities|title=Apple Maps adds its 3D flyover view to new cities, towns, and castles|date=29 September 2015 |publisher=The Verge|accessdate=23 March 2024}}

Guadalajara, the largest city in Mexico to have the feature, also received Flyover in 2015.{{Cite web|last=Kahn|first=Jordan|url=https://9to5mac.com/2015/02/24/apple-flyover-cities/|title=Apple adding 9 new 3D Flyover locations to Maps|publisher=9to5Mac|accessdate=31 October 2023}} Japan also saw more cities with Flyover, with Nagoya, Osaka and Hiroshima receiving the feature in 2015 as well,{{Cite web|url=https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-adds-new-flyover-locations-expands-nearby-feature-to-australia-canada-france-and-germany.1932338/|title=Apple Adds New Flyover Locations, Expands 'Nearby' Feature to Australia, Canada, France and Germany|date=26 October 2015 |publisher=MacRumors|accessdate=4 November 2023}} and Mannheim and Stuttgart in Germany also received the feature that year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/new-apple-maps-flyover-locations-2015-9?amp=|title=Here are all the amazing new locations you can fly over with Apple Maps|publisher=Business Insider|accessdate=20 October 2023}}

An additional 7 cities received Flyover in June of the same year, those being the cities of Karlsruhe and Kiel in Germany, Braga in Portugal, San Juan in Puerto Rico, Cadiz and Jerez de la Frontera in Spain, and Hull in the United Kingdom.{{Cite web|last=Lee|first=Cody|url=https://www.idownloadblog.com/2015/06/24/apple-maps-7-new-flyover-spots/|title=Apple adds 7 new Flyover locations to Maps|date=24 June 2015 |publisher=iDownloadBlog|accessdate=26 October 2023}}{{Cite web|url=https://appleinsider.com/articles/15/06/24/apple-adds-maps-flyover-support-for-7-cities-in-spain-germany-uk-and-puerto-rico|title=Apple adds Maps Flyover support for 7 cities in Spain, Germany, UK and Puerto Rico|date=24 June 2015 |publisher=Apple Insider|accessdate=23 March 2024}}

2016 saw Apple add Flyover to around 20 additional cities, including cities such as Adelaide in Australia and the Virgin Islands, with the majority of the new cities being smaller ones, as only two of the cities that received Flyover that year had over a million people.{{Cite web|last=Lovejoy|first=Ben|url=https://9to5mac.com/2016/02/04/apple-maps-flyover-locations/|title=Apple Maps adds 5 new U.S. Flyover locations, 15 more international ones|publisher=9to5Mac|accessdate=9 November 2023}}

2019 saw one of Apple's biggest Flyover expansions, with the feature being added to over 30 cities in France, Japan, the United States, and others, as well as the entirety of the nation of Monaco.{{Cite web|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2019/01/08/apple-maps-flyover-mall-locations/|title=Apple Maps Gains New Indoor Mall Maps and Flyover Locations|date=8 January 2019 |publisher=MacRumors|accessdate=12 September 2023}}{{Cite web|url=https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/08/apple-maps-flyover-updated-locations/|title=New Flyover and indoor maps locations now available in Apple Maps|publisher=9to5mac|accessdate=6 November 2023}} This would remain the largest amount of new cities added in a single year until 2024, five years later.

After 2019 and during the COVID-19 pandemic, relatively little progress was made with the feature, largely in favor of other newer features. However, Apple added some new Flyovers during and since then, expanding to Amsterdam in 2020{{Cite web|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2020/09/03/apple-maps-transit-3d-view-portugal-netherlands/|title=Apple Maps Expands Public Transit Information and 3D View in Portugal and the Netherlands|date=3 September 2020 |publisher=MacRumors|accessdate=12 September 2023}}{{Cite web|last=Neely|first=Amber|url=https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/09/03/apple-maps-now-has-3d-images-in-amsterdam-transit-information-in-portugal|title=Apple Maps now has 3D images in Amsterdam, transit information in Portugal|date=3 September 2020 |publisher=Apple Insider|accessdate=6 November 2023}} and Vienna in 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oe24.at/oesterreich/chronik/wien-bald-in-3d-apple-maps-vermisst-hauptstadt/520804076|title=Wien bald in 3D: Apple Maps vermisst Hauptstadt (in German)|date=June 2022 |publisher=oe24|accessdate=12 September 2023}}

Another major rollout of Flyover occurred in 2024, with dozens of cities across North America, Australia, and Europe receiving the feature, including Washington D.C.,{{cite web|url=https://www.unilad.com/technology/news/apple-maps-google-maps-comparison-464100-20240821|last=Roberts|first=Kit|title=People notice major difference in Google Maps and Apple Maps but are divided on which is better|publisher=Unilad|accessdate=6 May 2025}} Kansas City,{{cite web|last=Popa|first=Bogdan|url=https://www.autoevolution.com/news/apple-maps-flyover-quietly-launches-in-new-regions-233196.html|title=Apple Maps Flyover Quietly Launches in New Regions|date=30 April 2024 |publisher=autoevolution|accessdate=3 June 2024}} and Brisbane.{{Cite web|last=Brookes|first=Tim|url=https://www.yahoo.com/tech/why-switched-google-maps-apple-130014614.html|title=Why I switched from Google Maps to Apple Maps|publisher=Yahoo Tech|accessdate=25 November 2024}} These updates continued into 2025, with Lisbon, Frankfurt, and several other cities receiving Flyover.{{Cite web|url=https://www.heise.de/en/news/3D-flyover-Apple-Maps-adds-new-flyover-images-in-Germany-10249550.html|title=3D flyover: Apple Maps adds new flyover images in Germany|publisher=Heise|accessdate=16 February 2025}}

Apple collects the 3D data used for Flyover by using small military-grade{{Cite web|last=Orange|first=Richard|url=https://www.thelocal.no/20130812/oslo-bans-apples-mapping-drones|title=Oslo bans Apple's mapping drones|publisher=The Local|accessdate=12 November 2023}} drone-like planes, which fly up close to buildings to create a more detailed map. As of 2013, C3 Technologies, a Swedish company which was acquired by Apple in 2011, has collected the data used for Flyover.{{Cite web|url=https://www.applegazette.com/apple-inc/how-apple-creates-3d-flyover-maps/|title=How Apple Creates 3D Flyover Maps|publisher=Apple Gazette|accessdate=12 September 2023}}

With Flyover, certain locations – mostly big cities, landmarks and some national parks – can be seen from a birds-eye perspective. The three-dimensional views are photo-realistic, and users can change the vantage point on the map.{{Cite web |title=Apple: Maps |url=https://www.apple.com/ios/maps/ |access-date=December 30, 2015}}

Flyover imagery has been viewed as similar to that of virtual reality, and could possibly be a precursor to a VR feature on Maps.{{Cite web|last=Elliott|first=Matt|url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/take-awesome-vr-tours-with-apple-maps-flyover-feature/|title=Take awesome VR tours with Apple Map's Flyover feature|publisher=CNET|accessdate=18 November 2023}}

Flyover City Tours were released around 2014, but was inaccessible for a time until the feature was debugged by an Apple Maps developer, making it public. City Tours is a feature that allows users to view various landmarks in a given city via a "flying" animation, a feature only available to cities that already contain Flyover 3D maps.{{Cite web|url=https://appletoolbox.com/what-is-the-flyover-feature-in-apple-maps/|title=What Is the Flyover Feature in Apple Maps?|date=29 March 2023 |publisher=AppleToolBox|accessdate=12 September 2023}} City Tours was added as a feature to Apple Maps on iOS 8 on September 17, 2014, and in OS X Yosemite on October 16, 2014.{{Cite web|last=Slivka|first=Eric|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/07/flyover-city-tours/|title=Apple Filling Out Flyover City Tours Ahead of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite Launches|date=7 September 2014 |publisher=MacRumors|accessdate=17 November 2023}}

Most, but not all cities with Flyover allow tours of a given city, where the above virtual tour of various landmarks in the area will be shown.{{Cite web|url=https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/take-flyover-tours-iph81a3f978/ios|title=Take Flyover tours in Maps on iPhone|publisher=Apple Inc.|accessdate=12 September 2023}}

File:Flyover Availability-2.png

Flyovers are available in over 350{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/30/20888734/apple-maps-update-northeast-transit-google-maps|title=Apple Maps is looking better than ever, but it still has a long way to go|date=30 September 2019 |publisher=The Verge|accessdate=6 November 2023}} cities, metropolitan areas, national parks and landmarks across 29 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, as of 2024.{{Cite web|url=https://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability/#maps-flyover|title=iOS and iPadOS 17 Feature Availability|publisher=Apple Inc.|accessdate=12 September 2023}}{{efn|Note that 3D coverage is generally not limited to the cities targeted for Flyover (see below) and often covers surrounding towns and communities in the area. For example, Cologne and Düsseldorf both have Flyover, and in addition to their coverage, all areas between the two cities, such as Solingen and Leverkusen, also have Flyover.}}

Similar to Maps itself, Flyover saw many visual issues upon release, a notable one containing a massive glitch on the Brooklyn and Anzac bridges in New York and Sydney, showing "plunges" on both structures.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2012/09/27/apple-maps-six-most-epic-fails/|title=Apple Maps' Six Most Epic Fails|work=Forbes|accessdate=19 October 2023}} This was part of a larger series of technical issues with Apple Maps, most of which have since been fixed.

In 2013, the Norwegian government denied a request by Apple to add Flyover to Oslo, the Norwegian capital, citing security concerns arising from the amount of detail given to buildings, information which could potentially be used to facilitate and carry out terrorist attacks.{{Cite news|last=Dewey|first=Caitlin|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/08/13/why-norway-is-blocking-apple-maps-from-taking-3d-images-of-oslo/|title=Why Norway is blocking Apple Maps from taking 3D images of Oslo|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=12 September 2023}}{{Cite web|last=Gates|first=Sara|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/norway-blocks-apple-3d-mapping-flyover-oslo_n_3743600|title=

Norway Blocks Apple From 3D Mapping Oslo For Maps App Flyover View|date=

12 August 2013|publisher=Huff Post|accessdate=12 September 2023}} The decision was met with criticism from Fabian Stang, then mayor of Oslo, who called for the Norwegian government to allow Apple to add the feature, citing the possibility of increased tourism from the addition.{{Cite web|last=Grothaus|first=Michael|url=https://news.yahoo.com/2013-08-12-norwegian-government-bans-apple-from-capturing-3d-flyover-maps-d.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADrwQMxdHIFhyQwN23rC3K7A8fxr8PAroGgc8HN5FigWfY9dq1Hj9Nb4hAw5azYh-7JZKpPiRtBjTOus3Lcep5gRs-IkzLvieqnCL5ZAIER9U7L_-3erJ7kxr4oDyZygymtMBrxP6VX1x7RecRjoy-Sq_ZqHse6U1x7Nv7Y7qXg0|title=Norwegian government bans Apple from capturing 3D Flyover Maps data in Oslo|date=12 August 2013 |publisher=Yahoo News|accessdate=23 December 2023}} A spokesperson for the National Security Authority of Norway stated that obtaining the needed imagery from a "Norwegian supplier" or from the Norwegian Mapping Authority could potentially assist Apple in adding the feature.{{Cite news|last=Kleinman|first=Zoe|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-23675327|title=Apple aerial map photos blocked over Oslo in Norway|work=BBC News |date=12 August 2013 |accessdate=23 December 2023}} The US embassy in Norway also stated its support for Apple in adding the feature.{{Cite web|url=https://appleinsider.com/articles/13/08/12/apples-request-to-conduct-3d-mapping-of-oslo-denied-by-norwegian-government|title=Apple's request to conduct 3D mapping of Oslo denied by Norwegian government|date=12 August 2013 |publisher=Apple Insider|accessdate=25 March 2024}} Flyover was eventually added to Oslo in late 2023, 11 years after the initial incident. Similar security concerns may have also prevented Apple from adding Flyover to other potentially sensitive areas, including Washington D.C. (which eventually got the feature in May 2024), among others.

• 3D modeling
• Google Earth
• Pre-installed iOS apps

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• [https://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability/#maps-flyover Locations with Flyover Tours] (Apple Inc.)

{{Apple}}

Category:Apple Inc. software

Category:Technology

Category:Maps