UpNext Releases Impressive 3D Mapping App for iPad - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

UpNext Releases Impressive 3D Mapping App for iPad

by

img25 vz
Mapping company UpNext has released a new iPad app with its 3D mapping technology. The app shows uses points of interest and friends Foursquare check-ins to help users navigate on a 3D representation of close to 50 cities. TechCrunch, writing about the app, says:

I am seriously impressed. The resolution is great and the onscreen update speed is amazing. It offers the best of services like Google Maps alongside real city imagery, allowing you to use the map to orient yourself in 3D space. A blinking dot on a 2D street-scape works, but a 3D dot in a 3D city works even better.


The app boasts what UpNext calls "enhanced 3D" for 22 cities, with rich building and road detail:

Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Paul, Washington DC

UpNext HD Maps for iPad is available free on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

191 months ago
...and some people still say the iPad is just a big iPod touch. Can't do that on an iPod touch.

You could if it was bigger
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
191 months ago
Good effort and quite fun, if obviously very beta. When Apple release their own 3D mapping system based on the SAAB technology this sort of application will be doomed, I would not want to be an investor that's for sure.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
191 months ago
Pretty. Cute. Pointless.

When you have applications that show you actual street photographs, how is a 3D map any better, especially when the buildings don't really look like the actual buildings? They try, sure, but don't come close. So it's another "gee whiz" app that's redundant. And then there's the advertisement at the bottom of the map that bears no relation to my interests. If you want turn-by-turn on your iPhone and iPad go with waze. :cool:
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
191 months ago
Just to be clear:

The app in question is "UpNext HD Maps,” not “UpNext 3D Cities,” which is older and only has half a dozen or so cities right now—but which does support iPhone.

(It also seems to take up more space on your device, pre-downloading your chosen citi(es); compared to this newer app which streams as near as I can tell—but may therefore depend on an Internet connection all the time? I haven’t checked what else differs between the two.)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pigumon Avatar
191 months ago
You could if it was bigger

It's not JUST a bigger iPod Touch, it's FINALLY a bigger iPod Touch. :)

Useful screen space was all the Touch was lacking.



.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
191 months ago
...and some people still say the iPad is just a big iPod touch. Can't do that on an iPod touch.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday September 14, 2026 9:00 am PDT by
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27. During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...
Apple iCloud Plus expansion hero

iCloud+ Now Includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Curated Apple Music Stations in Over 100 Countries

Tuesday September 15, 2026 1:43 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries. In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....