Sometimes looking at a flat map view just isn't what you're looking for, but with Apple Maps you can now view the entire world map as a nice round globe too. You'll need to have Maps view set in either Hybrid or Satellite mode to be able to see the globe view, that can be done by tapping the page curl in the corner then selecting either one, then all you need to do is continuously pinch to zoom out until the globe view appears. You can rotate it around in any direction you want, and if you get too disoriented just tap the compass icon to reorient north again.
Play the globe travel game, use it for help with geography homework, figure out how where things are in relation to each other, or just enjoy having the whole world in the palm of your hand. It may not be the single most useful feature of iOS Maps but it's fun to play around with and it beats having to download another app just to see the world in true form.
Globe view is available on any iPad, iPod touch, or iPhone running iOS 6 or later with Apple maps.