Google breaks out new Street View app for iOS and Android
Google has released a standalone Street View app, updating the version on Android and bringing the app to iOS for the first time.
The new app brings Google's Street View offerings into line across both iOS and Android.
In the two apps, users can flick through Street View 'collections' as well as user-created photo spheres that are displayed in cards at the bottom of the screen. Collections are grouped into themes such as Animals and Wildlife, Oceans, or particular countries. Selecting a collection displays where they're located on Google Maps in the top half of the display.
The app also lets users take 360-degree panoramas from an Android phone or an iPhone and publish them to Street View, or alternatively add images from one-shot 360-degree cameras like Ricoh's Theta S.
The app also contains a private gallery where shots taken with the app are located. The images stay private unless the user decides to publish them on Street View. Users can share the snaps too, although they'll only be in a flat panorama view.
The launch is the first time Google has published a Street View app for Apple devices. It replaces Photo Sphere, an app Google launched last year for iPhone users to take 360-degree photos with the device's camera and publish them on Google Maps.
On Android, the app will replace the existing Street View on Google Maps app meaning, as Android Police points out, Street View appears as a distinct app in the app drawer and has its own functionality.
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