Google tries to make sure its most popular Android apps are also available to iPhone users, but not everything makes the cut.
Now Google's Photo Sphere app, designed to help you capture three-dimensional views of your world, has finally come to iOS.
[seealso slug="drone-map"]
Like Google's other Android-to-iOS app ports, Photo Sphere blends in well with the operating system's minimalist interface while delivering snappy performance.
After you launch the app, click on the camera menu option and you'll immediately see an orange positioning dot and a targeting frame prompting you to begin creating your immersive photo.
We took the app for a spin and it performed perfectly, taking about five minutes of shooting and then processing to produce an impressive 360-degree image. The only hiccup: It missed pinpointing our geo-location by about half a block (although you can adjust the location within the app before publishing it).
Of course, a number of apps already let you create immersive panoramic photos, but Photo Sphere lets you contribute your own perspective to one of the most frequently used mobile maps available, Google Maps.
Once submitted, the team usually takes about 24 to 48 to review the image and consider it for inclusion on Google Maps. In that way, the app is sort of like having a Google Street View recorder on your iPhone.
Photo Sphere is optimized for iPhone 5 and is free to download on the Apple App Store. It's only available for devices running iOS 7 or later.