Within five days of each other in 2012, both Google and Apple announced that they were adding 3D aerial imagery to their respective mapping apps.¹ Google initially branded this imagery as “3D City Models”, while Apple called it “Flyover”:

Over the nine years since their announcements, both Google and Apple have been expanding their coverage of this feature—but Google appears to be expanding it faster.

U.S. COVERAGE

As of July 1, 2021, Google Maps now offers 3D aerial imagery in the central parts of 379 of the U.S.’s 392 metropolitan areas. In other words, Google offers 3D imagery in 97% of U.S. metro areas. (Google is missing 13 U.S. metros.)²

As of July 1, 2021, Apple Maps now offers 3D aerial imagery in the central parts of 91 of the U.S.’s 392 metropolitan areas. In other words, Apple offers 3D imagery in 23% of U.S. metro areas. (Apple is missing 301 U.S. metros.)

CANADA COVERAGE

As of July 1, 2021, Google Maps now offers 3D aerial imagery in the central parts of thirty of Canada’s 35 metropolitan areas. In other words, Google offers 3D imagery in 86% of Canadian metro areas. (Google is missing 5 Canadian metros.)

As of July 1, 2021, Apple Maps now offers 3D aerial imagery in the central parts of seven of Canada’s 35 metropolitan areas. In other words, Apple offers 3D imagery in 20% of Canadian metro areas. (Apple is missing 28 Canadian metros.)

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1  The timing of Google’s announcement—just five days before the long-planned WWDC 2012 keynote and Apple Maps’s widely rumored launch—has always seemed a bit suspicious. Given that Google was almost certainly aware of Apple’s acquisition of C3 Technologies, it seems as if Google was deliberately preempting Apple’s announcement with one of its own. (Consider that Google scheduled its event just five days prior to holding it.)

But even though Google’s announcement event appeared rushed, the imagery itself did not—and its quality was roughly equivalent to Apple’s:

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2  The figures listed above are based on manual checks of Google’s and Apple’s mapping apps. Apple’s list of its current coverage areas is incomplete (several metros with coverage—Ann Arbor, Boulder, Durham, Fayetteville, Grand Rapids, Racine, Salem, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, and others—are missing). ↩︎