For the past several years, Google Search and Maps has offered a Business Messages capability that lets customers reach out to stores, restaurants, etc. via text chat. This is now shutting down in July.
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The new Google Maps bottom bar, which we spotted at I/O yesterday, is starting to roll out on Android.
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Back in March, Google’s announcement about the latest Maps travel features included a mention of how the app is getting a “cleaner home screen.” At I/O 2024, we get a glimpse at the new Google Maps bottom bar.
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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.
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Back in February, Google Maps started testing a big redesign of the Android app. On my devices/account it was pulled after a few weeks, but it’s now rolling back out with some noticeable refinements.
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Following the big update that added public transit directions last month, Google Maps has tweaked its Wear OS Tile to provide quick access to the map.
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Live Activities are a super useful feature of Apple’s latest iPhones, but also one that goes underused. Google Maps has been overdue to support the feature for years now and while it’s still not live yet, Google is testing Live Activities with some iPhone users.
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Google Maps has long featured the ability to show buildings in 3D while navigating, but recently started rolling out that view to its Android Auto and CarPlay experiences. Here’s how to disable that.
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The Google Maps app for Android Auto is picking up some minor tweaks to icons which offer a bit more contrast to the design.
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Satellite connectivity still hasn’t really made its debut on Android yet, but it’s clear Google is making an effort with it on Pixel phones and, apparently, also in Google Maps.
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Google Maps reviews are a valuable resource, but the service is losing the ability to store drafts of a review in progress.
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Ahead of Earth Day, Google Maps is adding a handful of features to make traveling more sustainable, like offering transit and walking alternatives instead of driving.
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The latest Google Maps update for Android makes a minor tweak which allows the phone’s toggle for 3D buildings during navigation to sync with the setting on Android Auto.
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Following Chrome last year and Photos a few months ago on Android 14, Google Maps is the latest first-party app to drop its custom share sheet and switch to the native version.
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For some users, a bug on Android Auto is causing all voice commands for navigation to be routed through Google Maps, regardless of the user’s preferences.
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Google Maps is perhaps one of the most widely used applications on the planet and, as such, even minor changes to its design are super important. But, on Apple’s CarPlay, Google Maps is in need of a massive overhaul, because it’s a bit of a dumpster fire.
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The work to make Gemini a better phone assistant continues, with Google recently updating it to automatically start Maps navigation “when you ask for directions.”
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In addition to a trio of announcements around lists ahead of the summer travel season, Google Maps will be simplifying its bottom bar on mobile.
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Besides search, reviews, and photos, Google Maps wants to help you find places to visit using lists from its community and third-parties.
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Google has brought Street View on Maps to Kazakhstan in its latest expansion.
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Following the announcement in late February at MWC 2024 and the March Pixel Feature Drop, Google Maps for Wear OS is more widely rolling out public transit directions.
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Android Auto is getting a tweak for Google Maps that shows the estimated drive time in the same bolder style as other platforms.
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Setting 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.
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Besides 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.
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