Category: Google Maps

An important update is in the process or rolling out in the Google Play Store for Google Maps.  The update, version 9.33.1 for those keeping score at home, brings a new Wi-Fi only mode to the navigation app.  In this mode, Maps will not consume any data and will give you navigation information in areas that you have downloaded to your device.  Once you are connected again to a wireless network, you have full functionality of the app.  The idea behind this new feature is two-fold:  First, if you are traveling abroad, you can save on high data usage charges while you navigate in that foreign country.  Second, there are plenty of rural areas here in the United States were data from carriers is just not available.  Either way, you can use this new Wi-Fi mode and keep navigating.

If you have used Google Maps the last day or two and things look different, you aren’t imagining things.  The Maps team has been rolling out a significant update behind-the-scenes for the app for Android and the web that has a much improved color pallet and new highlight areas of interest on the maps.  The good thing is this update is all happening on Google’s end.  There is no app to update on your side.  As the improved maps roll out to all users, you will just see it on your account.

The biggest change is really around the color pallet and the removal of things like black lines around roads.  This makes viewing maps much easier and cleaner than the old maps.

The world is full of information, which means highlighting necessary info on the map without overcrowding it is a balancing act. So as part of this update, we’ve removed elements that aren’t absolutely required (like road outlines). The result is a cleaner look that makes it easier to see helpful and actionable information like traffic and transit. And we’ve improved the typography of street names, points of interest, transit stations, and more to make them more distinguishable from other things on the map, helping you navigate the world with fewer distractions.

In a practical sense, this means that viewing Google Maps will be easier on a lot of levels:  clearer text, less clutter and easier identification.

Google Map is receiving another update for Android users with this update more or less aimed at those who do a lot of walking or bicycling.  The updated build, version 9.26 for those keeping score at home, brings the ability for you to search for other places to stop along your walking or biking path.  Say, for example, you need to stop at the pharmacy while you are biking home, you can search for a CVS or Walgreens along the way and build in that stop on your commute home.  If this sounds familiar, it should.  Google Maps had this feature for those who drive but it was not available for those who were walking or riding.  Give the number of people who walk or ride bikes to and from work, especially in urban areas, this was a real miss up to this point.

The latest update to Google Maps is rolling out and with it comes the addition of 360-degree photos when you look at a location.  The update you are looking for is version 9.23.1 for those keeping score at home and should be coming to you via an OTA update if you have the app installed.  The only major change in this update is the addition of 360-degree images.

If you navigate with Google Maps today, you may notice a small but handy change that has come to the app:  Navigation bubbles.  Now when you are in navigation mode, you will see a small bubble with street names of where your next turn is as you go to your destination.  It is a visual cue to back up the audio cue you receive as you navigate and is particularly handy if you don’t use the audio turn-by-turn navigation.  The nice thing is that this new feature is already built into the most current version of Google Maps so no new app update is required.  This all happened on the backend at Google.

The Google Maps app for Android has seen a minor update that brings a couple of small but important features to the app.  The update is version 9.21 for those keeping score at home and it is rolling out to the Google Play Store now.  You should see the OTA update hit your device over the course of the next couple of days.

The first change is a new notification for edits that you have made in Google Maps.  As you know, users of the app can edit all kinds of information about a business or location within the app.  You can change things like location (the pin drop location), the address, open hours, etc. to make sure that you and others users have the most up-to-date information.  These types of edits are verified by Google themselves and can take a day or two before they actually go live.  Now you can be informed of any edits you make going live within the app itself.