(Just to clear a possible misconception: OSM is a database, not a rendered map. Everyone is free to render their own maps based on OSM data.)
When we map (e.g. when we click on the "Edit" button), we use satellite images from providers like Bing, Maxar, ESRI, who have authorised their imagery to be used as base layer. Many countries also authorize their national orthophotography to be used as base layer.
What they mean is that OSM is not a commercial product that licenses satellite or aerial imagery, so the website does not include this (it's really just a showcase of various info that's in the database, not meant to be fit for any particular purpose, although it's surprisingly good for general use).
However, some image sources are available under free licenses, or in Bing's case, a special license for drawing roads in OSM. Many of those can be found if you go into the edit mode, because the default web editor (iD) has those in the background layers menu.
So you can't use satellite data (of the same detail as on Google maps) without paying is basically the answer to my question if I understand you correctly?
To spell it out clearer, though you were pointed this multiple times:
OpenStreetMap is a database, not a website.
Its purpose is to reference stuff that you can see in the street, not to provide a sleek map website.
OpenStreetMap provides map data. They are not a provider of satellite data. You would have to go look elsewhere, and pay someone else.
Now, the openstreetmap.org website still does a decent job at showing a map, though its geocoder is lacking. The website also lacks several features, some are provided by overpass (https://overpass-turbo.eu) for instance, https://brouter.de, etc.
OpenStreetMap data is integrated with satellite data and much more on a lot of websites.
For instance, https://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/carte has aerial photography imagery for France, plus a few map overlays, including OSM. French national geography institute (IGN) releases free aerial photography, there are other sources for other countries.
If you go to "edit" mode on the openstreetmap.org website, you'll see aerial/satellite imagery too, licensed for free from bing and others. AFAIK, that license is only for editors, thus they can't have it on the main website (and that wouldn't be a showcase of OSM data anyway).
I agree it's a bit of a shame that the openstreetmap.org doesn't do a better job of showcasing the wealth of data, and it could be more user friendly. There are a lot of other websites that provide the same data, represented differently. https://osmand.net/map for instance. https://www.qwant.com/maps has vector maps and is quite good too!
> To spell it out clearer, though you were pointed this multiple times:
I think I was pretty clear about what I was interested in, namely satellite data on the same level of detail as what is available from Google Maps. My question wasn't really about what OpenStreetMap is or isn't is, but it's a nice bonus I guess! That French website is a good example of the type of imagery I was looking for.
We have a subscription for MapTiler to do our in app maps; including very nice satellite imagery. This data set is obviously not the good stuff.
For reference, I've used ortho4xp to get some satellite imagery based x-plane scenery. I have several hundreds of GB of scenery like that for a few relatively small areas, like my home country the Netherlands, the area around Berlin, and a few more places. That scenery comes in at multiple GB (4-6GB) for just a single rectangle on the map (1 degree latitude by 1 longitude degree, depending on the zoom level. You typically use it at zoom level 17 but you can configure it to go for zoom level 19 near airports, which helps when coming in to land. This stuff is huge. At zoom level 19, you can see quite a bit of detail. It looks great from a few hundred feet up in the simulator.
What map tiler offers us looks like it is similar quality to that. I assume they are licensing some satellite data for this. Zoom level 19 resolution for the entire world is likely to be in the peta byte range. 500GB is probably zoom level 15 or 16ish. Still usable but not great if you want to zoom in and see details.
Edit. Another point is that zl 19 and better does not come from satellites but from air planes and isn't available everywhere (only in populated areas typically).
