Finally something new on the map platform Google Maps. After a longer break, several new features related to navigation and map display have now been announced, which are to be rolled out to many users around the world in the next few weeks. In addition to additional information on toll routes, the map will in the future also contain traffic structures, traffic lights and road signs.
The Google Maps team has been busy over the past few months working on some major innovations that are being announced with a bang and rolling out to all users over the next few weeks. The usual pattern: In the spring there are innovations, a few weeks later at the I/O previews of future functions, which will then be tested in the coming months.
Detailed road courses and road constructions
The road courses on Google Maps are generally quite reliable and should become even more detailed in the coming weeks: more details for road courses, a realistic representation of the road width, traffic islands, middle lanes and even adapted building shapes have been announced. Everything is designed so that you can find your way around unfamiliar regions very quickly and at a glance.
In addition, traffic lights and stop signs should appear on the map. If all this sounds familiar, there is no deja vu: these innovations were announced last year for some regions and will now be rolled out more globally. The rollout will take place in “selected countries” without giving further details.
Information about tolls
Google Maps has been able to indicate toll roads for a very long time and, if desired, avoid them. If you don’t want that, the route planner provides detailed information on the costs for more than 2,000 routes in the USA, India, Indonesia, Japan and several other countries. These should indicate the final price, without guarantee, and take into account both the route and the day of transit. This is planned for other countries in the coming months.
More for Apple users
Apple users are particularly fond of them and have given them three new features: A new Google Maps widget can bring many planned routes to the home screen and go straight into route planning with these destination details or the following navigation. There is also a new shortcut on the Apple Watch that can be used to start navigation without using the smartphone. In the coming months, Google Maps will also be integrated into Spotlight, Siri and the Shortcut app.