MAC ROUMORS

Apple Maps vehicles will begin surveying Croatia and Portugal for the first time starting in late November, according to Apple’s website.

For over two years, Apple has been driving vehicles around the world to collect data for Apple Maps—widely believed to be street-level imagery. Since 2015, the vehicles have surveyed over 35 states in the United States, in addition to parts of France, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Apple said it will blur faces and license plates on collected images prior to publication, suggesting that it could be working on adding a Street View feature to Apple Maps, similar to what Google Maps has offered for several years.

When Apple’s fleet of vans first hit the streets, speculation arose about the vehicles serving as the basis of an Apple Car. But those rumors quieted down after the vans were later labeled with Apple Maps decals.

Some industry observers still believe the vans are at least partially related to Apple’s autonomous driving project, but the evidence is inconclusive.

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Source: MAC ROUMORS