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For many years people have used Google’s Street View function to catch a glimpse of what a Google Maps destination looks like from the perspective of someone standing in the street. But did you know that Apple’s version of this handy feature has been living natively on your iPhone for almost a year now? 

Apple released its own 360-degree 3D map in last year’s iOS 13 called Look Around. In typical Apple fashion, it’s a wonderful and high quality view of many of the major cities in the US and around the globe. The Boston area was one of the very first cities to have the feature roll out, so lucky us! Here’s how you can explore cities using Look Around in Apple Maps:

Open the Maps app on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 13 or later. From the menu, tap the search bar and search for a friend or relatives’ house, or a popular location like the Massachusetts State House or Fenway Park.  To check whether a location supports Look Around, swipe up from the menu that shows the location. You’ll find a Look Around icon. You might also spot a binoculars icon in the top-right corner of the screen when you’re scrolling around Maps. Tap that icon to enter the Look Around view.

Once you enter the Look Around view, you can use two modes. One is a heads-up street view mode that shows you both the street view and the map. Or in the map view, you can move the binocular icon around the streets and see the street view update live. You can then tap the expand button to go full screen with the street view.

Look Around is a superb way to predict what your destination looks like before you arrive. This is perfect when traveling to a new destination in a densely populated area like Boston or Cambridge. Often times, knowing the color of a hous, or whether there is something distinctive in the yard is just as valuable as the actual street address. 

Happy navigating!