Google Maps’ recent update is expanding upon further route details in 4 particularly populous cities across the world, giving visitors a much easier time when it comes to navigating around them.
This recent glow up to the app’s services has been circulating in discourse since its announcement in August of 2020. The update itself was quietly rolled out to a limited number of applications last December, as Google tested the waters. However, it's now much more freely out and about as users can interact with a more fully-realized version of Maps. Even if that version is limited to 4 cities for the time being. Then again, the process of programming in natural landmarks as well as minutia such as crosswalks and pedestrian islands for even one city is a monumental task.
The cities that have received this special attention are London, Tokyo, and finally two entries from the USA, New York City and San Francisco. Now, while these cities hardly display the densest populations, with those honors going to the likes of Mumbai and Karachi, they are still areas that hold international recognition as well as a solid amount of tourists, the people that will benefit from this new update the most. Two entries from the USA also seems fair enough, as Google is situated in, and therefore more comfortable with, the States.
So, what do the new features fully entail? Well, due to the still-limited number of phones that can access them, it's difficult to obtain a full picture. It does seem, however, that upon visiting one of these cities and zooming in on Maps, the feature goes live. It then goes on to display specifics that can prove to be generally helpful, such as road widths, park pathways and stairs for the infirm and elderly, roadside vegetation, medians, and the aforementioned pedestrian islands and crosswalks. These features will further help newcomers and those unfamiliar with the land to form a more nuanced approach towards what routes they’ll be taking to their respective destinations.
Currently, while the feature is being rolled out to more and more users, there’s still a while before it reaches the entire Google community. In the meantime, we can sit back and hope that Maps chooses to further improve upon more and more locations, giving everyone a much easier time when navigating figurative uncharted waters (and perhaps even literal ones, some day).
Read next: Google Chrome Is Planning to Remove Status Bar from Progressive Web Apps
This recent glow up to the app’s services has been circulating in discourse since its announcement in August of 2020. The update itself was quietly rolled out to a limited number of applications last December, as Google tested the waters. However, it's now much more freely out and about as users can interact with a more fully-realized version of Maps. Even if that version is limited to 4 cities for the time being. Then again, the process of programming in natural landmarks as well as minutia such as crosswalks and pedestrian islands for even one city is a monumental task.
The cities that have received this special attention are London, Tokyo, and finally two entries from the USA, New York City and San Francisco. Now, while these cities hardly display the densest populations, with those honors going to the likes of Mumbai and Karachi, they are still areas that hold international recognition as well as a solid amount of tourists, the people that will benefit from this new update the most. Two entries from the USA also seems fair enough, as Google is situated in, and therefore more comfortable with, the States.
So, what do the new features fully entail? Well, due to the still-limited number of phones that can access them, it's difficult to obtain a full picture. It does seem, however, that upon visiting one of these cities and zooming in on Maps, the feature goes live. It then goes on to display specifics that can prove to be generally helpful, such as road widths, park pathways and stairs for the infirm and elderly, roadside vegetation, medians, and the aforementioned pedestrian islands and crosswalks. These features will further help newcomers and those unfamiliar with the land to form a more nuanced approach towards what routes they’ll be taking to their respective destinations.
Currently, while the feature is being rolled out to more and more users, there’s still a while before it reaches the entire Google community. In the meantime, we can sit back and hope that Maps chooses to further improve upon more and more locations, giving everyone a much easier time when navigating figurative uncharted waters (and perhaps even literal ones, some day).
Read next: Google Chrome Is Planning to Remove Status Bar from Progressive Web Apps
