The immersive view feature of Google Maps is now finally being made available to select users.

Image Credit: How to Geek Google Maps' long-awaited "immersive view" may finally be available to you if you cross your fingers, bend down, and pray to the great Google gods above. During the last week, users have gradually started to receive access to the 3D cities flyover capability, however, just a small number of users have so far reported doing so. Google promised customers they will soon be able to see comprehensive images of some of the most well-known cities in the world via Google Maps when the feature was initially introduced at Google I/O in 2022. Although few users have really seen the function before recently, Google said last month that immersive view was "rolling out immediately" for London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo. One Reddit user revealed earlier this week that they had access to Immersive View, albeit they observed that many features—like moving cars—that had been shown in the first unveiling had not yet been incorporated, at least in this early iteration. The function was not accessible, according to several commenters on the post. Only two of the members of Gizmodo's consumer tech team, some of whom are stationed in New York City and others near San Francisco, were successful in accessing the function. Entering a famous landmark in Google Maps, such as the Empire State Building in New York City or the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, was necessary to see the feature for the first time. From there, we had the option to tap about and zoom in on various parts of a 3D representation of the city. According to Google, an immersive view creates a navigable city experience using a combination of 2D photos and 3D rendering technology combined with AI. The function is meant to work in tandem with Google Street View to enable going from street level to inside a few certain buildings and stores as smoothly as feasible. The in-app graphics look good from a distance, but when you zoom in, the buildings resemble Microsoft Flight Simulator more than any actual full-3D render (although they employ comparable technology). It was a little difficult to descend to the ground since, in our experiments, we could only choose certain locations on the map to enter Street View. By navigating a time slider at the app's bottom, the new feature also allows users to view the current weather. It was interesting how rain seemed on the screen, although it did make getting about a bit more challenging. If you're visiting, the time slider will also indicate when an attraction is busiest, which should help you schedule your day. Therefore, it's not particularly helpful for city dwellers, and even for tourists, it primarily serves as a tech demonstration and the last option in the event that they ever get lost. Berlin wasn't initially included in Google's list of supported cities, but Gizmodo was able to confirm that the functionality is functional there. Amsterdam, Dublin, Florence, and Venice are the upcoming cities to have immersive views after debuting, according to Google.