Google today unveiled what they are calling the “next dimension” of its Maps Service, with new full 3D renderings for Google Earth that was demoed live on an Apple iPad.

Apple is wildly expected to drop Google Maps from the iOS and launch their own in-house Maps App with 3D capabilities. It looks like Google planned the announcement just before the WWDC  which is only 5 days away, lets see what Apple has in store.

The next dimension
An important next step in improving all of these areas—comprehensiveness, accuracy and usability of our maps—is the ability to model the world in 3D. Since 2006, we’ve had textured 3D buildings in Google Earth, and today we are excited to announce that we will begin adding 3D models to entire metropolitan areas to Google Earth on mobile devices. This is possible thanks to a combination of our new imagery rendering techniques and computer vision that let us automatically create 3D cityscapes, complete with buildings, terrain and even landscaping, from 45-degree aerial imagery. By the end of the year we aim to have 3D coverage for metropolitan areas with a combined population of 300 million people.

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