Google has yet to announce an official Google Maps app for iOS, but users can still use Google Maps in Safari on iOS 6 if they desire. Be sure to read our guide on how to get Google Maps on iOS 6. One of the most useful features of Google Maps is Street View, a feature that Apple Maps lacks.
Today, Google has added Street View to their webapp, giving iOS 6 users (and anyone else that has a HTML5 supported browser) a viable, browser-based mapping solution.
Let’s see how well it works.
The rollout appears to be staggered so if you don’t see Street View in your Google Maps yet, don’t worry. It’ll appear soon.
Accessing Street View is pretty straight forward. Navigate to maps.google.com in Safari and search for where you want to go. There will be a strip at the bottom with the address and buttons for navigation or Street View. Tap on Street View and a new tab will open with the Street View of that location.
In my testing, I found Street View loads slowly, even over Wi-Fi. Once the image has loaded, scrolling and panning around the image is smooth and works as expected. If you want to move down a street, be prepared to wait a little. The Street View image will be reloaded and can take a painful 5-15 seconds.
While not perfect, Street View is a great addition to the Google Maps webapp to help users navigate just a bit easier.
