Would Apple continue working on its new map during the pandemic?

We seemingly got our answer when Apple started testing a new map expansion last month and then released it a few weeks later:

But Apple hasn’t just been expanding—it’s also been updating the areas it has already mapped, such as here in Chicago:

And if we zoom out and go back to November (when Apple first expanded its new map to Chicago), we see even more changes:

But while Apple’s changes in Chicago are relatively subtle, they’re not nearly as subtle in other U.S. cities, such as Los Angeles:

Here in L.A., Apple has added new detail to several buildings—including the microwave tower on the roof of the AT&T Switching Center:

When Apple first expanded to L.A. in January 2019, it replaced its old L.A. building dataset with a new one. But since then, Apple has updated a number of these buildings again:

One of the things that makes these recent building updates so interesting is that Google doesn’t have some of them.

For example, Apple has a full 3D model of Wilshire Grand Center (which was completed in 2017 and is California’s tallest building)—but Google just has a flat, 2D outline:

Apple has made a number of similar updates in New York City since last fall:

Midtown Manhattan is undergoing a skyscraper boom:

And Apple has been adding many of these new skyscrapers to its map, such as 53 West 53, 111 West 57th Street, and One Vanderbilt:

And similar to what we saw in Los Angeles, Apple has added these buildings before Google has. For example, here’s 111 West 57th Street, which will be the U.S.’s 4th tallest building when it’s completed later this year:

Apple has the tower—but Google still appears to have an empty lot.

Meanwhile, here’s One Vanderbilt, which will be the U.S.’s 5th tallest building when it’s completed later this year:

Apple has a full 3D model of the tower—but Google just has a flat 2D foorprint.

And here’s 53 West 53, which was completed last year and is currently the U.S.’s 18th tallest building:

Here again, Apple has a full 3D model while Google has an empty lot.

But what makes this all even more surprising is that Google has been adding building footprints faster than ever. Back in February, Google’s CEO told Wired that “in the last year alone, Google has mapped as many building exteriors as it did cumulatively in the 10 years prior.”

And yet Apple is outpacing Google in adding all of these new buildings in New York and Los Angeles.

But buildings aren’t the only thing that Apple seems to be outpacing Google at. Over the past week, I’ve been watching a road construction project back in my childhood neighborhood in rural Illinois:

The project started on the morning of April 8 and has continued over the past week.

One of the main roads through my old neighborhood is being torn up and realigned (in order to remove its curve):

Apple showed the construction project on its map on the morning it started (April 8). But curiously, Google didn’t:

And now a week after the project started, Google still doesn’t have it:

UPDATE #1 | April 20, 2020

Twelve days after it started, Google still doesn’t have the construction project:

And even though the road is impassable...

...Google routes me across it:

UPDATE #2 | May 5, 2020

Apple continues to add detail to the skyscrapers in New York City:

UPDATE #3 | May 8, 2020

One month later, Google still doesn’t seem to know about the road construction project...

...even though the road remains impassable:

UPDATE #4 | September 29, 2020

On September 28, 2020, Apple added a 3D model for Central Park Tower in New York City:

And similar to what we saw earlier this year, Apple has once again added this new skyscaper before Google has:

Central Park Tower is the tallest of the skyscrapers currently under construction in New York City:

And if you look at all of the skyscrapers pointed out in the photo above on Google and Apple Maps, you’ll see that Apple now has 3D models for all of them—while Google has 3D models for just two:

This is surprising, especially given that three of these buildings are among the U.S.’s five tallest: