New App Highlights Over 300 Custom-Designed 3D Landmarks in Apple Maps - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

New App Highlights Over 300 Custom-Designed 3D Landmarks in Apple Maps

Since the release of iOS 15 in 2021, Apple Maps has been rolling out a more detailed map with custom-designed landmarks in major cities around the world. The new "Detailed City Experience" is now available in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, and several other cities, with more to come.

Landmarks App
Montréal-based developers André Baev and Simon Gardinier recently released a new Landmarks app with a collection of over 300 of these 3D landmarks, ranging from the Royal Opera House in London to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The app is available on the App Store for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, and requires a device with an A12 chip or M1 chip and newer to properly display the 3D landmarks in full color and detail.

Each landmark has an immersive animated landscape that you can interact with, and there is a toggle for viewing them in Light or Dark mode. The landmarks are organized by city and the app will be regularly updated with new models as they become available. The app is free to use and has no ads, but there is an optional gyroscope feature that can be unlocked for as little as $0.29 for users who wish to support the developers.

Apple periodically updates a list of locations where the Detailed City Experience is available on its iOS feature availability page.

Baev also released a similar Preflights app that provides 3D map views of major airports, complete with essential information.

Popular Stories

Apple Maps General

Apple Maps Flyover Gets a Visual Upgrade in iOS 27

Monday June 8, 2026 4:29 pm PDT by
Apple Maps is getting a visual update in iOS 27, with Apple planning to introduce new aerial imagery that's combined with Visual Intelligence models. Apple said everything will have sharper detail, from the "shapes of individual trees to the way light reflects off the glass of skyscrapers." Flyover is an Apple Maps view that lets users see more than 350 cities in 3D with detailed...
Apple Says iOS 27 Adds These 12 New Features to Your iPhone Feature

Apple Says iOS 27 Adds These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday June 9, 2026 9:47 am PDT by
iOS 27's key new feature is a more intelligent and personal version of Siri, but the changes go well beyond that. In a press release, Apple outlined additional enhancements coming across Apple Maps, Find My, Apple Wallet, Apple Music, and more. Apple Maps has gained an enhanced Flyover experience powered by AI, enabling you to view aerial imagery in "stunning detail" for select cities. In ...
liquid glass app icon

Apple Maps to Get These 10 New Features in iOS 27

Thursday June 11, 2026 5:45 am PDT by
Apple Maps is getting a range of new features in iOS 27, headlined by an upgraded Flyover experience that uses AI to improve the realism and detail of its aerial imagery. Flyover is a longstanding feature of Apple Maps and lets users explore more than 350 cities in 3D with detailed landmarks, roads, parks, and buildings. Apple described the enhanced Flyover in iOS 27 as combining aerial...

Top Rated Comments

43 months ago
Why would you want to download a separate app to look at these, what's the point? Also, the way this post is written makes you think it's an Apple Maps feature.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GeoStructural Avatar
43 months ago
I like the direction Apple Maps is taking; the graphics are gorgeous, the Look-around feature is vastly superior to Google's offering, and the 3D views are rich and realistic.

Apple Maps has sure come a long way, but it still has a lot to improve. One thing I would like them to improve is precision, Google still beats it on the best route, Apple Maps still sends me around my destination instead of straight there. Two other aspects are pinpoint managements and up-to-date maps and street names.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macaholic868 Avatar
43 months ago
Just had a fun “conversation” in the new Bing app about 80’s synth pop and where I can find playlists for modern songs made in that style. Then I used Siri to play the music through my HomePod. Meanwhile Apple’s hard at work adding custom details about cities I won’t be visiting anytime soon into their maps app and coming out with new emoji and watch bands.

WTF Apple? They should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time considering they basically have a license to print money at this point but I’m increasingly concerned they can’t. Siri is a joke and other companies have already done most of the heavy lifting required to vastly improve it if Apple would just pony up, pay the licensing fees and integrate it into their own SDK and API’s.

Apple should be both doing that and working on their own in-house AI style engine but shouldn’t leave their customers reliant on Microsoft or Google for a decent audio based smart assistant. It’s a bad look from Apple.

I fear their bum rush to get overly expensive VR equipment nobody will use out the door is outweighing smart practical moves like developing their own in-house next generation AI style engine or licensing what’s already out there to almost instantly improve Siri.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MasterControlProgram Avatar
43 months ago
I’d have preferred if Apple had carried on doing the 3D cities they’ve done so far. While these new models are nice, they look more basic than the more detailed and textured models they’ve already done:



These old 3D models were animated too (e.g. the London Eye rotates). So I’m not sure why they’ve half finished one 3D map and started on another one. 🫤

Attachment Image
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
43 months ago
Waiting for the detailed experience to roll out in other countries too.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
43 months ago
Ah yes the landmark that is the apple fifth avenue store
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)