Google Maps

Google Maps makes it easier to find EV charging stations and see specific roads

Ben Schoon | May 10 2024 - 7:24 am PT

Google Maps is picking up a couple of useful new tricks, at least on Android, that make it easier to find EV charging stations as well as seeing the entirety of a road.

Over the past several years Google Maps has been building out better support for electric vehicles, including more information about charging stations. Just last month, Google announced AI-powered summaries for helping users to locate a charging station. The company also recently added more in-car enhancements for finding charging stations nearby and improvements to route planning with charging stops.

Now, there’s a new tweak arriving on the Google Maps app on your phone.

The latest versions of Google Maps for Android support the ability for the app to show a quick and easy filter for “Charging stations” in place of a previous filter for “Gas” stations. The change seems to have been applied recently and was highlighted by the folks over at SmartDroid.

To see this change, you’ll need to dive into Maps settings and set “Your vehicle” as an electric vehicle. The default is gas.

Google previously made this change in Android Auto last year.

Beyond that, another recent tweak is the ability for the Google Maps mobile app to highlight a full street when you search for it. Previously, Maps would just show the street with a pin, but now it highlights the length of the street in blue. This functionality existed on the web app and through Search, but recent updates have brought it to mobile devices.