| Cult of Mac

Apple says that Apple Park campus is a ‘no drone zone’

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no drone
Drones aren't Apple's favorite technology, it seems.
Photo: Kif Leswing/Twitter

Apple has no time for your drones! Yesterday was Apple’s annual investors meeting, and one of the attendees tweeted this photo of signage erected at Apple Park declaring it a “no drone zone.”

Given Apple’s insistence on privacy — and Tim Cook declaring that keeping Apple products under wraps is the “bane of [his] existence” — that’s not necessarily a surprise. Still, it does mean that Apple is seemingly none too happy about the myriad drone flyover videos which keep on showing up online.

Apple Park goes green in latest drone video

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Apple Park
The spaceship is nearly ready for liftoff.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Apple Park is finally starting to look like a finished project in the latest drone flyover video. Landscaping work is in full swing as construction crews race to finish the final details on the Steve Jobs Theater and other buildings.

The new Apple campus is still weeks away from being move-in ready. Vehicle traffic on Tantau Ave. was shutdown for most of July as Apple rushes to finish the Visitor’s Center too.

Take a look at the progress:

iOS 11 brings VR mode to Apple Maps using ARKit

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flyover mode in Apple Maps
Flyover is getting a major upgrade in iOS 11.
Photo: Apple

Ever wonder what it feels like to be a Godzilla-sized monster traipsing around the skyscrapers of New York City? Well, with iOS 11 now you can.

Apple has subtly added a cool new virtual reality mode in Apple Maps with the release of iOS 11 that lets users explore 3D models of some of the world’s most popular cities. The new feature is powered by Apple’s new ARKit, allowing you to walk around your house and tilt your phone camera around to visit different parts of the city.

Watch the crazy new feature in action:

How to activate Photos’ hidden 3D Flyover view

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3d flyover photos
See all your photos on Apple's 3D Flyover map
Photo: Cult of Mac

The iOS Photos app might just look like a simple grid-like list, but it has a ton of hidden power. For instance,  you can see your photos on a full-screen, 3-D Flyover map. And with one simple swipe on a photograph, you can see where it was taken, see other photos taken nearby, and collections photos that your iPhone figures are related to the one you’re looking at. It’s a fantastic way both to find out more about your pictures, and to browse. After all, why limit yourself to flipping through pictures, one by one, in the order you shot them, like some film-camera using hipster luddite, when you can see your photos on a map in Apple’s glorious 3-D Flyover view?

It’s time for Apple Watch to get serious about fitness

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Here's how Apple could improve watchOS 4 for fitness buffs.
Here's how watchOS 4 could improve Apple Watch for fitness buffs.
Image: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Apple puts fitness front and center in its advertising for Apple Watch Series 2, even going so far as to claim the device is a “superior sports watch.” But in reality, it is not a sports watch at all. It’s a smartwatch. And that’s a massively important distinction.

Sports watches, like the TomTom Runner or Garmin Forerunner, are cheaper and more reliable at logging workouts, while smartwatches are jacks of all trades, which usually means they are masters of none. Or at least, not masters of fitness.

The sad fact is that it doesn’t have to be this way. Right now, it’s mostly the software that is letting Apple Watch down. That’s why I’m hoping that with its next major software update, Apple will finally get its smartwatch into shape for fitness fans. Here’s what I want to see in watchOS 4, which Apple will likely unveil at its Worldwide Developers Conference this June.

Apple’s spaceship campus is looking almost ready for liftoff

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Apple-Campus-2-updated
Apple's spaceship campus as it will eventually appear.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s still-unnamed “spaceship” campus won’t be completed until the end of this year, but it’s looking less and less like Tim Cook’s beautiful pile of dirt and more like a finished HQ every single day — as drone operator Matthew Roberts’ latest flyover video makes abundantly clear.

Check out the action below:

Get your vacation on with the best of Apple Maps Flyover

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View some of the most beautiful cities and landmarks in the world with Flyover.
View some of the most beautiful cities and landmarks in the world with Flyover.
Photo: Apple

The worst part about vacationing is coming back home and getting hit in the face with cold, hard reality. Excessive food consumption, relaxing atmospheres and sugary alcoholic beverages are out of your life and work is back in. But what if you take the travel part (not to mention the cost) completely out of equation? You get Flyover in Apple Maps.

Why vacation in this costly, unforgiving world when you can live vicariously through your iPhone, iPad or Mac?

Flyover, the immersive 3-D view in Apple Maps, now supports hundreds of cities around the world and Apple adds more all the time. In fact, seven more were added to the list just today so we thought it would be fun to take a look at the hottest vacationing spots of 2015, without even leaving the couch.

Get your summer vacay on at these hot Flyover spots:

The Norwegian Government Won’t Let Apple Take Aerial Photos Of Capital For Maps

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The Parliament of Norway in Oslo
The Parliament of Norway in Oslo

One of Apple’s most-touted features in Maps is Flyover, a mode that lets you see a city in stunning 3D imagery. The feature is limited to select metropolitan areas around the globe, but Apple continues to add more locations as Maps matures.

The Norwegian government is currently blocking Apple from taking aerial photography of the country’s capital city, Oslo, due to privacy concerns.