Early last year Google announced that it was partnering with Uber to offer integration with the popular ride-sharing service directly within Google Maps. Now, though, that functionality is going away.
To enhance user experience in Maps, Google allows users to specify home and work addresses so that the app can quickly navigate them through traffic. While there are already shortcuts in the app to quickly navigate to these locations, they can sometimes be hidden.
Google I/O saw a lot of exciting announcements, but one that didn’t get the attention it should have was the company’s refresh to Material Design. Since I/O, we’ve seen Google using its new Material Theme in a lot of apps and services, and now it seems to be rolling that out to Google Maps for Android.
In important markets, like India, Google often hosts specialized events to announce country-specific features and initiatives. At the second annual Google for Brazil event, the company today announced Android Go, along with new features in Search and Maps.
Google Maps is a powerful resource for tons of information and reviews are a core part of the service. Now, Google is adding a handy search feature to those reviews.
Google Maps is constantly testing out new changes for its mobile apps, and on the Android app, we’ve been seeing quite a few different adjustments as of late. Today, we’re getting a quick look at a new addition Google is testing with a special “floating” UI for some searches.
Following the Federal Trade Commission filing suit against companies that try to take advantage of small businesses with threats of removing Search listings, Google is improving how it handles “bad actors” and third-parties. This include new awareness programs, better detection, and taking similar legal action.
Since the earliest days of Google Maps, your vehicle’s location along your route has always been represented by a blue arrow. That’s about to change on iOS — Google has added three new adorable car designs to replace it with.
At I/O 2018, Google announced that Maps would become more personal and assistive over the coming months. Screenshots from the keynote also revealed Google’s Material Theme for the Android app, with the company now A/B testing one likely aspect from that upcoming update.
Google Maps is adding a new “For you” section, but more broadly it is making the service more personal with machine learning to serve better recommendations. The service wants to let users make “better decisions on the go and experience the world in new ways.”
Google has announced today that Google Assistant is coming to Google Maps “this summer.”
More details to come.
Updating…
Google Maps has long been a developer platform where third-parties can build off Google’s location services and data. Today, Google is launching its “next generation” version, beginning with a new name for the simplified service, as well as new use cases.
For Earth Day 2017, Google Earth rather appropriately received a huge revamp that dropped the desktop app for a web client, redesigned the mobile apps, and added several features to better explore the world. A year later, Google is sharing several usage stats for the updated service.
It’s likely that each and every one of us use some form of GPS on our phones at least a few times a week, if not daily. It’s a handy tool, and few do it better than Google Maps. Now, it seems Google is testing out a new method of giving voice-based directions…
Whether you’re going on vacation overseas or just want to be able to navigate around town without draining your data plan, you can download different areas within Google Maps to use while offline. Here’s how.
Google never really stops testing out new designs and tweaks for its various applications, and Google Maps for Android sees a lot of slight changes here and there. Now, it appears Google is testing a new tweak to the navigation UI on Maps, introducing rounded corners.
Search bars are an important part of Google’s apps given that many of its services deal with lookup and finding information. Google Maps for Android is now A/B testing a revamped search box that features a new centered logo.
Over the weekend, Google was found to be giving the police in Raleigh, NC private user location data when served with a search warrant. While this has been done in the hope to catch a criminal, it also ends up giving law enforcement innocent people’s private data just for being in the area.
How do you feel about Google potentially handing over your private location history to the police?
In Raleigh, NC, (via WRAL) it’s been discovered that local police have issued search warrants for Google to surrender data on Google Accounts that are near crime scenes within a given window of time.
It should seem obvious to users of Google Maps that Google keeps record of your location over time. Less obvious is that even with GPS disabled, Google still has a decent idea where you are, using other factors like cell towers and WiFi networks. This is true whether you use an Android phone or the Google app on an iPhone, including innocuous ones like Inbox by Gmail.
Few will argue if you tell them Google Maps is the best navigation service, and it’s continually getting better all the time. Today, Google is bringing a new feature to Maps to improve its functionality for wheelchair users.
In retrospect, Pokémon Go in 2016 popularized the trend of real-world mobile games that are now intersecting with the augmented reality push on both Android and iOS. Google is now capitalizing on this wave by opening up the real-time updates and location data already found in Maps to game developers.
Google frequently touts that the “next billion users” will come from developing nations with different focuses and needs. To that end, the company has developed a number of optimized services, with one being a “simple and consistent addressing system that works across India and globally.
To celebrate Mario day (March 10, Mar10), Nintendo and Google partnered up to allow drivers to roll through the streets as the little plumber. Here’s how to drive as Mario on Google Maps on Android and iOS…
After a teaser and some early users reports earlier today, Google has officially announced a new event for Google Maps in celebration of Mario Day.
