The web version of Apple Maps is gradually evolving by integrating Look Around, a function equivalent to Street View that has been used for years in Google Maps. And who is still far from matching his model!
You are most likely familiar with Google Street View. This tool integrated into Google Maps, both on computer and through the Android or iOS application, allows you to immerse yourself in the heart of the location selected on the map with a simple click. You can virtually walk through the streets, on the roads or even the paths that have been photographed by Google agents who have been traveling the globe for years. Google is no longer alone in the field.
Little by little, Apple is trying to catch up on Maps. Its Plans app, available on Mac, iPhone and iPad, offers in addition to the traditional map, 3D or satellite views, a 360° view. It is a carbon copy of Google Street View but this time produced with photos taken by Apple agents. And if until last June Plans was only available for Apple devices, a beta version of the service has since been offered free online. It is accessible through any web browser and allows you to calculate routes. Since today, the Look Around function, a clone of Google Street View, has also been integrated into the version, still in beta, of the online service.
To access it, nothing could be simpler. Open your usual web browser and go to the page dedicated to Plans. From there you can, for example, enter an address in the search field. If the area has been captured by Apple’s cars, a small window is displayed at the bottom left of the window where the photo is presented. A single click on it opens it full screen in the browser. From then on, you can navigate in 360° and virtually circulate in the area just like with Street View. We also find the same information there as in the Google service, in particular the links to the businesses present in the photos.
It is also possible to access Plans by clicking, if present, on the icon in the shape of a pair of binoculars present at the bottom left of the screen after having zoomed in sufficiently on an area.
The online version of Plans is completely free and therefore continues to evolve at its own pace. It is currently (very) far from equaling Google Maps, especially with regard to the Look Around function with a territory covered today that is still much lower than what Google offers. And, above all, a really painful slowness… Come on, Apple, one more effort! .