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A new Google Maps update is coming later today, and it promises a number of features and a snazzy new redesign. The changes will come to both iOS and Android applications. The update comes exactly after 15 years from the date of the launch of Google Maps beta. With this update, users can expect a slew of new features and design elements that make using the Maps application a joyous experience.
Here are some of the most important features and changes coming with the Google Maps update:
Google Maps now has a four-color icon, that borrows from the elements of the location pin.
At the bottom of the screen, users can find a navigation system with five icons
“Saved” tab fetches a list of locations you may have bookmarked, along with other such lists you may also have created
“Contribute” tab allows you to add photos and reviews locations you visit often
The hamburger menu, which hid many of these icons, is finally gone
Google Maps’ list features now more accessible, and many reviewers have noted that this is an advantageous feature for users
Users can easily access crowdsourced information on Google Maps
Google has also made it easier to access information that is entered via the crowdsourcing method. Users can easily check the temperature, security, accessibility and other such details entered by other users. This is very useful while traveling on public transport, as people can plan their journeys well in advance, and make informed decisions.
Walkers may get better user experience with the new update
The tech giant has also included Live View, which uses augmented reality (AR) to help pedestrians and walkers to plan their journeys. In the initial versions, Live View displayed blue arrows to help users understand where they are walking. Now, a large red pin shows where the destination is, and how far the user us away from it. Users can still access turn-by-turn directions using the blue arrows.
However, the new Live View feature is perfect for those who want to orient themselves in the direction. Live View feature will be added to another update and may not be available right away. It is important to note that Apple Maps has similarly planned to redesign and unveil new features. Competition makes everyone work hard, and Google is no exception. And that is always a good thing for end-users.
Google Maps was launched 15 years ago this week (in beta, of course). Not surprisingly, Google is using this as an opportunity to launch a few new updates to its massive mapping service. For starters, Maps has a new icon, a four-color take on the loc...
Update, February 3, 2020 (5:15 PM ET) Google just responded to the experiment saying whether car, cart or camel, they’d welcome anything that makes Google Maps better.
Simon Weckert website
Artist Simon Weckert wanted to show that technology is not perfect and relying on it completely can have unintended consequences. To do so, he conducted the Google Maps experiment and created virtual traffic jams on Berlin streets. The experiment has already attracted a lot of attention from diverse groups and raised many philosophical questions.
What was Simon Weckert’s Google Map experiment all about?
The experiment was very simple. Simon Weckert put 99 smartphones into a card and turned Google Maps on the devices all at the same time. To make things more ironic he even wheeled the cart outside Google’s office. As a number of smartphones have Google Maps turned on at the same time at the same location, Google Maps servers were tricked into thinking that they were actual traffic jams on the streets.
As Simon loaded the smartphones onto a cart, Google Maps erroneously also believed that the traffic was slow-moving. Consequently, Google Maps started to display streets flooded in red. This misled people into thinking that they were actual traffic jams on the streets of Berlin.
Vulnerabilities in different technologies can result in unsavory situations
As Google Maps uses user-generated data, the smartphones in the cart caused the technology to make incorrect decisions. Simon Weckert's experiment is proof of technology being imperfect even when it did exactly what it was supposed to do. Naïvely believing that technology is immaculate or that it's invincible can have disastrous consequences in real life.
It is more of a philosophical question to wonder if technology can ever be perfect. As man creates every technology, all of them are prone to human errors. They're also prone to human mischief and malevolence. In a world that is increasingly volatile, this can result in dangerous situations.
Questioning the infallibility of technology
As artificial intelligence is becoming popular, people are increasingly questioning technology’s infallibility. Even Blockchain has known errors and people have indulged in mischief. With this being the case, Simon Weckert's experiment stands as testimony to how quickly things can go wrong if someone who wants to trick the system actually starts to do so.
Simon Weckert’s Google Maps experiment makes us all wonder about our own beliefs about technology. This artistic endeavor comes at the right time, and one can only hope that people stop naively believing that technology is always perfect.
We tend to think of Google Maps as an indispensable tool that is rarely wrong, but an artist from Germany named Simon Weckert found a humourous way to game the app. Using a wagon loaded with 99 second-hand smartphones, he was able to "hack" Maps to c...
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When Sundar Pichai revealed Google's initial responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, he promised to give business owners a quick way to mark themselves as "temporarily closed." That way, people can look up which local shops are open and what hours they'r...
Last year, Google Maps introduced "Live View" AR navigation that visually guides you to a location using your phone's camera. The feature is still a bit difficult to find, though, so Google is testing a feature that makes it more visible. In the late...
Google introduced big changes to Lens at its I/O conference last year by turning your phone's camera into a powerful search tool. With one of the key features, you could point your camera at a restaurant menu and it would highlight the most popular d...
Google's efforts to inform people about the coronavirus outbreak extend well beyond a search alert. The company has outlined all the ways it's addressing COVID-19, including a bid to stamp out misinformation. On top of the SOS Alert (with news and...
Apple took its time getting transit directions onto its maps, and even once it did Apple Maps users in countries outside the US were left wanting. Now, it seems it's finally rolling out transit directions coverage across Europe. According to MacRumor...
Google Maps was launched 15 years ago this week (in beta, of course). Not surprisingly, Google is using this as an opportunity to launch a few new updates to its massive mapping service. For starters, Maps has a new icon, a four-color take on the loc...
We tend to think of Google Maps as an indispensable tool that is rarely wrong, but an artist from Germany named Simon Weckert found a humourous way to game the app. Using a wagon loaded with 99 second-hand smartphones, he was able to "hack" Maps to c...
Google Maps can help you find available EV charging stations, but that doesn't mean they're stations you can use -- and that might be a problem if you show up at the wrong station with a low battery. Thankfully, Google might help you avoid that slip-...