What you need to know
- The new Apple Maps has become available in the Southeast United States.
- This marks the completion of the new map's rollout across the country.
- Apple had promised to complete the rollout by the end of 2019.
Apple has reportedly completed the rollout of its updated mapping information to the last part of the United States that was awaiting the update. Reported by 9to5Mac, the iPhone owners in the southeast of the United States have started to see the updated map in the Apple Maps app, signifying that the U.S. rollout is now complete.
Looks like the new Apple Maps data just hit the southeast
(cc @MacRumors @9to5mac) pic.twitter.com/hYFyT8CXj7Looks like the new Apple Maps data just hit the southeast
(cc @MacRumors @9to5mac) pic.twitter.com/hYFyT8CXj7— Nate Thompson (@NateThompson) December 27, 2019December 27, 2019
Apple has been rolling out its new map in stages throughout the year. Apple had turned on its new map in the Northwest back in November, the Midwest in October, and the Northeast in September. With the inclusion of the Southeast, it seems that the entire country is now finally covered, meeting Apple's promise of completing the rollout by the end of 2019.
Apple had been using third-party mapping services like TomTom since the iPhone was introduced. Over the years, however, the company realized that in order to bring the experience they wanted to consumers, it would require them to build their own mapping system from the ground up. As 9to5Mac reported in 2018, Eddy Cue stated that the company had been thinking about taking that step since 2014.
Cue says Apple is now focused on building the "best map app in the world" which requires "building all of our own map data from the ground up." He adds that Apple decided it needed to provide its own first-party mapping data, not just the application with third-party data providers, over four years ago. The advantages of the new mapping system include the ability to update and correct data in real-time. Cue says the new maps infrastructure will allow Apple to address road work and corrections much faster than the current version.
Apple announced the new Apple Maps at WWDC 2019. It not only includes a much more highly detailed map but new features like Collections and Look Around, features aimed at competing with Google Map's Lists and Street View.
