Most impressive Google Maps update in years is finally arriving
The tech giant announced that its Maps app is undergoing an overhaul and will now include 3D ‘immersive’ navigation.
On its website, Google explained: “We’re introducing Ask Maps, a new conversational experience that answers complex, real-world questions a map could never answer before.
Now you can ask for things like, ‘My phone is dying - where can I charge it without having to wait in a long line for coffee?’ or ‘Is there a public tennis court with lights on that I can play at tonight?’
“Previously, finding this information meant lots of research and sifting through reviews. But now, you can just tap the ‘Ask Maps’ button and get your questions answered conversationally, with a customized map to help you visualize your options.
Advert
“Ask Maps is uniquely helpful - tapping into Maps’ fresh information about the world to show you everything you need to know before you go, personalizing responses to you, and making it easy to turn plans into action.”
Meanwhile, immersive navigation will give a ‘vivid 3D view that reflects the buildings, overpasses, and terrain around you’.
The firm continued: “When it’s helpful, Maps will highlight critical road details like lanes, crosswalks, traffic lights, and stop signs to help you make that turn or merge confidently. This spatial understanding of your route is made possible with help from Gemini models, which analyze fresh, real world imagery from Street View and aerial photos to give you an accurate view of things along your route, like landmarks and medians.”
Immersive navigation uses smart zoom and transparent buildings in order to help the user navigate ‘tricky turns and lane changes’ far in advance.
Google added: “Things are constantly changing on the road - in fact, every second, Maps incorporates over 5 million updates to traffic around the world. We’re always working to find you the best route behind the scenes, and now, Maps will also inform you about tradeoffs for alternate routes, like a longer trip with less traffic or a faster one with a toll. We’ll also alert you to real-time disruptions along your route, like road construction and crashes - powered by our community of drivers, who provide more than 10 million of these contributions every single day.”
This feature has already begun to roll out across the US and is expected to be available in the coming months on both iOS and Android.