Tokyo, Japan is just the latest major city to receive official support for AR walking guidance.
It was back in 2021 that Apple first introduced AR (augmented reality) navigation to its Apple Maps app, allowing iOS users to navigate their real-world environment using virtual overlays. Similar to Google Maps’ Live View, users can use their smartphone’s camera to follow a series of virtual arrows leading to their desired location without having to take their eyes off the street.
Today we learned that the company’s AR walking guidance feature has arrived in Tokyo, Japan, offering local iOS users a new way to navigate their labyrinth-like city. The news was first reported by Alta Distance, who discovered the feature yesterday after spotting the ‘Refine Location’ icon on their app.
“It’s nice that Apple is finally doing something more with their Japanese image collected data than just Look Around and AR walking guidance has to be in place for iOS 16 indoor station maps,” said Alt Distance in their report. “AR walking guidance is the perfect fit for a new kind indoor maps that navigate users through intricate, information dense underground station mazes like Shinjuku, Tokyo and Ikebukuro, the very places where Apple Image Collection backpacks are busy collecting data.“
Alto Distance has yet to try the feature in other regions, such as Osaka and Nagoya. At the time of this writing, Tokyo is the only area in Japan to have reportedly received support. In addition to Tokyo, Apple’s AR walking guidance is available in major cities such as Montréal, London, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, and Washington, DC just to name a few.
For more information on Apple Maps’ AR navigation visit here.
Image Credit: Alta Distance
