Google Maps is bringing a historical Street View feature to its mobile app, meaning you can now see older street-level photography captures from as far back as 2007.
Mapping
Apple launches its overhauled maps in Germany and Singapore
Apple has rolled out the latest Apple Maps improvements to its customers in Germany and Singapore, including 3D landmarks, street-level photography, improved navigation, more detailed road coverage and other perks.
Apple Maps expands cycling directions to folks located in Chicago, Detroit and more
Apple Maps now provides cycling directions in additional Midwestern cities in the US, helping cyclists in those areas find the best routes with bike lanes.
5 new Google Maps navigation features: new watchOS app, enhanced maps & more
Navigating with Google Maps on your iPhone and Apple Watch will soon get easier thanks to a more detailed map, a dedicated watchOS app and other new features.
Apple Maps gains custom 3D landmarks for Philadelphia locations like 30th Street Station
Apple Maps now shows 3D landmarks in Philadelphia, allowing iPhone, iPad and Mac users to view custom 3D objects when exploring such locations as One Liberty Place.
German users confirm being able to report accidents and hazards on Apple Maps
Folks in Germany can now take advantage of Apple Maps incident reporting to report accidents and various road hazards following the feature's launch in the US and China.
Apple rolls out improved navigation and mapping details in Australia
An improved Apple Maps experience is now available in Australia following recent launches of richer and enhanced mapping and navigation data in Andorra, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Native Apple Maps ratings and photos now rolling out a year after iOS 14 debuted them
Native Apple Maps ratings and photos are now being launched in the United States and elsewhere after the features initially debuted in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 back in August 2020.
Users in the Netherlands can now report traffic incidents to Apple Maps
Traffic incident reporting on Apple Maps has now gone live in the United States after first launching in the United States and mainland China in April 2021.
iOS 15’s Maps app takes into account weather warnings like flash floods for your car journeys
iOS 15's redesigned Maps app now factors weather warnings when suggesting navigation routes to help you avoid flooded roads, snowstorms and more when planning your next journey.
Apple Maps is gathering data in Hong Kong for street-level Look Around imagery
Apple Maps vehicles have been spotted photographing the streets of Hong Kong, indicating that's where the iPhone maker could expand its Google Street View-like Look Around feature.
Google Maps rolls out an awesome new AR view for navigation inside malls and airports
Google is bringing an awesome new mode to its mapping app for iOS and Android designed for augmented reality (AR) navigation inside shopping malls and airports.
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Indoor AR navigation in Google Maps. Works inside shopping malls and airports. New eco-friendly route options due later in 2021. AR indoor navigation with Google MapsThis has been confirmed in a blog post on the Google website, which outlines a couple of new Google Maps features slated to hit iOS, iPadOS and Android devices later this year.
Called Live Mode, the new feature gives you accurate turn-by-turn directions inside shopping malls and airports by taking advantage of artificial intelligence to “scan tens of billions of Street View images to understand your orientation.”
Thanks to new advancements that help us understand the precise altitude and placement of objects inside a building, we’re now able to bring Live View to some of the trickiest-to-navigate places indoors: airports, transit stations and malls.
The feature debuted in Google Maps for iOS and Android for a handful of shopping malls in Chicago, Long Island, Los Angles, Newark, San Fransico, San Jose and Seattle. In the coming months, it'll roll out to select airports, malls, and transit stations in Tokyo and Zurich.
Additional cities and locations are coming in the future.
Eco-friendly routesAside from AR indoor navigation, Google Maps will also gain eco-friendly routes later this year.
With insights from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab, we’re building a new routing model that optimizes for lower fuel consumption based on factors like road incline and traffic congestion.
When that feature is launched publicly, Google Maps will default to the route with the lowest carbon footprint when it has approximately the same ETA as the fastest route, Google says.
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“In cases where the eco-friendly route could significantly increase your ETA, we’ll let you compare the relative CO2 impact between routes so you can choose,“ reads the post. Google will let you change your defaults to have the app, for example, always show the fastest route.
Eco-friendly routes will be available on both iOS and Android later this year. Initially, this feature will cover the US, but Google's promised a global expansion arriving at some point.
Air quality and other tidbitsGoogle even outlined some of the features that will be coming to its mapping service later this year, including weather and air quality information, with the relevant data being pulled from such partners as The Weather Company, AirNow.gov and the Central Pollution Board.
With the new weather layer, you can quickly see current and forecasted temperature and weather conditions in an area—so you’ll never get caught in the rain without an umbrella. And the new air quality layer shows you how healthy (or unhealthy) the air is—information that’s especially helpful if you have allergies or are in a smoggy or fire-prone area.
→ How to use filters to search for Google Maps locations
Weather information and the air quality index will hit Google Maps on iOS and Android “in the coming months.” The weather layer will be available globally and the air quality layer will launch in Australia, India and the US, with more countries to come—you guessed right—at a later time.
Both weather and air quality information have been available on Apple Maps for some time.
And lastly, stores’ business profiles available on Google Maps and through Google Search will now display useful information such as delivery providers, pickup and delivery windows, fees, as well as order minimums. This is currently available via Google Search on mobile, starting with Instacart and Albertsons Cos. stores in the US.
The feature will extend to Maps and expand to other partners in the future.