Apple Maps' days of hardship may finally be over Today (January 30), Apple finished the major overhaul of its Maps app that began with the release of iOS 13 and rolled out across the US

Now, finally, the features we loved in iOS 13, such as more accurate maps and a new trick called "Look Around," are available to people outside of a few states that were early adopters, such as Apple's home state of California

As you can see from the GIF above, Apple has added buildings, parks, and other details to the good-looking maps The company said via a press release that this new version of the map will allow for "faster and more accurate navigation"

Apple hopes that the days of the joke that Apple Maps will lead you astray are finally over, as Maps now boasts that it features "better road coverage and pedestrian data" When iOS 13 was released, Apple said its Maps team drove more than 4 million miles to collect data to improve the app's directions and data

Apple also announced that it would deliver "look-arounds," similar to Google Maps' Street View, to more cities In addition to the San Francisco Bay Area, where it was initially launched, "Look Around" is now available in Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, and Oahu According to Apple, this is not the end of Apple's work, with "more locations to come"

In our iOS 13 review, we noted that Look Around always felt "more immersive and easier to scroll through" than Street View, which seemed a bit jerkier and less natural than it should feel

If, like me, you ditched Apple Maps every time it sent you in the wrong direction or left the app because you didn't want to risk it when Google Maps was right there, the iOS 13 version of Apple Maps has a There are a few more features to check out

Collections allow you to group your favorite spots and share them with friends For example, the New York collection in the press release lists great pizza and burger places like Emily and Emmy Squared

If you only go to certain places all the time, the "Favorites" section on the map's start page will help you get directions faster With this new row of buttons, a set of bookmarks for classic destinations will be available from the moment you open the app

On Applecom, the company says this nationwide rollout "will begin across the US by the end of 2019," but if this is what it takes to make it work, we'll admit that a 30-day extension is not a lot I remember being in Hawaii when Google Maps finally came back to the iPhone

Its original version, released with iOS6, was supposed to replace Google Maps, which had taken off due to a dispute between Apple and Google over user data In fact, Maps was so bad that Tim Cook wrote a letter of apology and the app ranked in our list of the 15 biggest Apple failures of all time

Google Maps has a strange habit of prominently displaying places like "Carrie Bradshaw's apartment" and using store logos as beacon dots, making you feel like you're being advertised when you're just trying to ask for directions

It is also commendable that Apple puts privacy first in the way it handles data, as stated in the Maps press release It states, "All data collected by Maps while using the app, including search keywords, navigation routes, and traffic information, is associated with random identifiers and is continually reset to ensure the best possible experience and to improve Maps "

Well, Apple, let's bet on another chance