Google Maps on Android Auto gives drive time a subtly bolder redesign
Android Auto is getting a tweak for Google Maps that shows the estimated drive time in the same bolder style as other platforms.
Expand Expanding CloseAndroid Auto is getting a tweak for Google Maps that shows the estimated drive time in the same bolder style as other platforms.
Expand Expanding CloseSetting default apps is commonplace on Android, but over on iOS, Apple has historically made this difficult. Over time, users have been given the ability to set default browser apps and make other tweaks, but starting next year, Apple will apparently allow iPhone users to set their default navigation app as something other than Apple Maps, like Google Maps.
Expand Expanding CloseBesides using Live View and your camera for VPS, Google has a new device orientation solution for Android map developers with the Fused Orientation Provider (FOP) API in Play services.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Maps is invaluable in finding your way to a location, but a sore point of the app has long been finding where to actually enter the building. Now, though, Google Maps seems to be showing entrances for buildings to some users.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle announced “glanceable directions” for Maps on Android and iOS last February, and a new setting called “Glanceable directions while navigating” is now available.
Expand Expanding CloseAt Mobile World Congress 2024, Google announced a handful of wearable and navigation-related updates, starting with public transit directions in Google Maps for Wear OS.
Expand Expanding CloseUsing a navigation app when out on the road is what just about everyone does nowadays, but these apps are useful for more than just getting directions from point A to point B. Google Maps has supported incident reporting for quite some time, but as we keep moving forward, the feature is becoming essentially useless due to neglect.
Expand Expanding CloseThe Google Maps UI has largely been unchanged for the past several years, but that’s now changing with pretty significant redesigns across key surfaces, including when searching for directions.
Expand Expanding CloseLike the iOS app, Google Maps for Android now overlays the weather and AQI when you’re browsing the map layer.
Expand Expanding CloseEarlier this year Google Maps on Android Auto started showing buildings in 3D while driving. Now, that functionality is rolling out more widely, and we’ve got a few more details on it as well.
Expand Expanding CloseEarlier this month, Google announced it was deprecating a slew of Assistant features. One of those removals was the “App Launcher” in Assistant Driving Mode, which most people assumed was the entire experience. Google tells us that is not the case, and here’s what will be left of Assistant Driving Mode after February 7.
Expand Expanding CloseGenerative AI is coming to Google Maps and will let you find places in a conversational manner.
Expand Expanding CloseAs we previously spotted and Google later confirmed in a series of deprecations, the Assistant Driving Mode for Google Maps is going away later this month.
Expand Expanding CloseAs someone that always browses restaurant listings before committing, Google Maps is now mapping and naming user-generated food pics to the actual menu items.
Expand Expanding CloseOne of Google’s biggest augmented reality investments is Live View. Google Maps is elevating the AR navigation and discovery capability with Google Lens branding.
Expand Expanding CloseGPS makes it possible to navigate the globe with relative ease, but tunnels have long been a sore spot for apps like Google Maps. But, widely available now, Google Maps now supports Bluetooth beacons to fill in the gap left by tunnels.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Maps has supported showing buildings in 3D for quite a while, but now the app is testing out the ability to show those 3D buildings while in navigation on the mobile app as well as on Android Auto.
Expand Expanding CloseIn 2022, Google announced it was killing the Assistant Driving Mode that provided a “Dashboard” homescreen. This left another optimized UI in Google Maps for Android, which was also called “Driving Mode,” but that’s now also facing deprecation in February 2024.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle is making a big change to how it stores Location History data on Android and iOS. Instead of that data being stored in the cloud, Google will be locally saving Location History to your device with end-to-end encrypted cloud backups for “Your Timeline” in Maps also offered.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Maps for Android Auto is picking up a useful new trick with the ability to save your parking location when you arrive at your destination.
Expand Expanding CloseOver the past couple of weeks, Google Maps has widely rolled out a new color palette across its various apps, and the reactions have so far been mixed. So, now that everyone has it, what do you think of the new colors in Google Maps?
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle has announced a slew of new features for Maps in recent weeks, including Immersive View for routes, more detailed navigation, and transit filters. Google Maps is now rolling out a new color palette.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Maps is widely rolling out a revamped color palette and, now, that’s also showing up on Android Auto too.
Expand Expanding CloseAhead of the holiday season, Google Maps is adding shared lists that let people vote on places, as well as filters for transit directions.
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