Apple Maps has a huge i OS 27 upgrade on the way for Flyover that will help you ‘see cities around the world like never before’ — and users think it’s down to Gaussian Splatting, the next big 3D photography craze | Tech Radar
Overview
News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
Details
Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards.
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
Apple Maps has a huge i OS 27 upgrade on the way for Flyover that will help you ‘see cities around the world like never before’ — and users think it’s down to Gaussian Splatting, the next big 3D photography craze
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Apple Maps is getting a huge Flyover visual upgrade
It will use Vision Intelligence and aerial imagery to create detailed 3D models of city landscapes
It looks like Apple has also adopted Gaussian Splatting to help render its 3D models
Apple’s upcoming i OS 27 upgrade isn't just about fancy new AI upgrades like the new Siri voice assistant — but Apple Maps is also getting quite a noticeable revamp.
During its WWDC 2026 keynote, Apple took a moment to shine a light on the new visual upgrade for the Flyover tool in Apple Maps, which allows you to view over 350 global cities in 3D from a bird's eye perspective. In i OS 27, Flyover will display buildings and natural landscapes alike using a combination of aerial imagery and Apple’s own Vision Intelligence models to produce 3D views that are even more detailed.
Though Apple didn’t go into further detail, the images used in the WWDC presentation suggest that the company has also adopted Gaussian Splatting to create its 3D landscapes, a graphics technique that uses video footage as the foundation to build a 3D framework. The tool could really give Apple a huge leg-up over Google Maps, which still uses photogrammetry to generate its own 3D models.
It’s not a theory that’s completely out of the question; there are users out there who have also pointed this out after seeing the newly rendered imagery in Apple’s keynote (see below).
holy crap! apple just beat google to the punch -- 3d gaussian splatting is coming to apple maps.these 3d scenes are made from oblique aerial imagery. but unlike blobby photogrammetry -- no more broccoli trees, no more melted powerlines -- ground level detail that actually holds… pic.twitter.com/Iv 95I3yfbj June 8, 2026
holy crap! apple just beat google to the punch -- 3d gaussian splatting is coming to apple maps.these 3d scenes are made from oblique aerial imagery. but unlike blobby photogrammetry -- no more broccoli trees, no more melted powerlines -- ground level detail that actually holds… pic.twitter.com/Iv 95I3yfbj June 8, 2026
Flyover’s enhanced imagery is designed to bring out every visual aspect of Apple Map’s 3D aerial views, including the nitty gritty parts that go unnoticed. Speaking at WWDC, Vice President of OS Program Management, Stacey Ford, shared the following: “From beautiful architectural details to the shapes of individual trees, to the way light reflects off the glass of skyscrapers, you’ll see cities around the world like never before”.
The 7 biggest new features coming to your i Phone in i OS 27
i OS 27 is tipped to get 3 big upgrades — here's what to expect at WWDC
i OS 27 may get ‘fully customizable’ i Phone apps but few Liquid Glass tweaks
The update is quite a big technical shift for Apple Maps, and will join other upgrades from mac OS Golden Gate, to custom Air Pods EQ adjustments in i OS 27. The only downside is that you’ll have to wait a bit to test out Flyover’s new look, as i OS 27 is expected to roll out publicly in September — but you can register as a developer and download the first i OS 27 beta now.
Although there’s still a few months left to wait, users have spotted signs that Apple is tinkering with Flyover ahead of the wider i OS 27 rollout.
When the announcement was shared to the r/Apple Maps community on Reddit, users flocked to the comments to share more theories. One user believes Apple is conducting a “weird rollout”, who says that switching to i OS 27 reverts previously-supported cities to low-quality satellite images, while newly-supported cities receive the visual upgrade.
From the user’s experience, they recall seeing a handful of US locations including San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and Phoenix revert to 2D, as well as international cities such as Sydney, Paris, and Stockholm. On the other hand, Vegas, London, Berlin, Barcelona, and others have been upgraded.
At the moment it’s still very much a guessing game, and Apple probably won’t provide further information until we get closer to the wider i OS 27 launch later this year. That said, Apple’s move from photogrammetry to Gaussian Splatting marks a big shift in digital map rendering, and now we’re just waiting for Google Maps to follow suit.
Follow Tech Radar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.
Rowan is an Editorial Associate and Apprentice Writer for Tech Radar. A recent addition to the news team, he is involved in generating stories for topics that spread across Tech Radar's categories. His interests in audio tech and knowledge in entertainment culture help bring the latest updates in tech news to our readers.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
1 North Korean hackers are at it again — phishing scheme targets hundreds of workers to try and steal crypto and more
2 Best World Cup 2026 e SIM deals — Stay connected from the opening game to the final whistle
3 Amazon wants to end dodgy knockoffs with its own AI-generated custom merch printing
4 Secretlab's already perfected the gaming chair — and now it's going for the home office market with its new Atlas model
5 Hands on: I've spent over 35 hours sitting in Secretlab's new Atlas task chair and there's a lot I like about it — but I'm still not sure it will dethrone my Herman Miller
Tech Radar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
Key Takeaways
- News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
- Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
- Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards
- Unlock instant access to exclusive member features
- Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards
