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Apple preparing to add ‘Street View’ to Maps in iOS 10?

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Apple looks to be adding a long-awaited feature to its Maps app soon, with a fleet of camera-equipped vehicles making the rounds of major cities as we speak. Adding a first-person ‘street view’ function would help it compete with Google Maps, which has had a similar feature for years now.

The cars have been seen now and then over the last year capturing data throughout the US, UK and Ireland. In recent weeks they have been spotted more and more, with the Apple Maps logo printed on the window. The vehicles are equipped with multiple cameras and sensors to help record photographic data of inner city areas.

With WWDC coming up in June, Apple is expected to announce a new operating system, iOS 10, ahead of its likely release alongside a new range of iPhones in September. As Apple ramps up its map-related data capture it looks a fair bet that this is all leading towards new features for Maps in iOS 10.

Apple Maps was ridiculed on first release, but has since stepped up its game in a bid to compete with the long-running Google Maps service. Apple has an advantage with its excellent and unique flyover mode, but in many other departments Google still has the edge. Street View has long been a popular feature of Google Maps, and it would be a big step for Apple to match – or improve on it – in its own mapping service.

Read more: Apple Maps now has three times as many users as Google Maps on the iPhone