Google Maps
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Google Maps is adding a host of new AI features for iOS users to make it easier to plan trips and see their routes in advance. they are arriving.
You may already have Apple Maps installed on your iPhone, but Google Maps is a powerful alternative that integrates with your Google account and a person's ecosystem. Google tends to focus on a broader range of features, such as social aspects or integrated capabilities like trip planning, so it's a better choice for many power maps users.
The new Google Maps feature will be available in the coming months in 12 countries, including Canada, France, Germany and the United States. The main AI-powered feature is called Immersive View for Itineraries, which aims to make trip planning more convenient, promote sustainable choices and provide quick activity inspiration.
This feature, announced earlier in 2023 at Google I/O, offers a completely new way to preview their journey, whether users are driving, walking or biking.
Immersive View of Routes
As Google explains, imagine that you want to take a ride along the boardwalk to Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
With Immersive View, users can see their entire journey in a multi-dimensional view from start to finish. This allows them to prepare for each turn as if they were already there, offering detailed, turn-by-turn visual guidance.
Immersive Route View
What sets this feature apart is the time slider that allows users to plan their departure based on simulated traffic and weather conditions. This means you can easily avoid driving in rainy weather or heavy traffic.
This week, Immersive View for Directions is launching in cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paris, San Francisco, San Francisco. Jose, Seattle, Tokyo and Venice, and is available on both Android and iOS platforms.
Lens in Maps
Google Maps also improves users' understanding of their surroundings when they reach a certain places. Whether travelers are exiting a subway station and need to get their bearings or exploring a new area in search of the nearest coffee shop, another feature called Lens in Maps (formerly known as Live Search) uses artificial intelligence and augmented reality to help users quickly navigate. acclimatize to the environment.
Lens on Maps
By clicking the Lens icon in the search bar and lifting the phone, users can get detailed information about nearby ATMs, public transport stops, eateries, cafes and shops. Starting this week, Lens in Maps will be available in more than 50 new cities, including Austin, Las Vegas, Rome, Sao Paulo and Taipei, as part of the feature's largest rollout yet.
More detailed information on maps
The navigation map will soon offer a more realistic view peace. In addition to updated colors on the map, users will see more realistic buildings, which will help them navigate better — useful, for example, when driving through the city center and need to accurately determine your location on the last part of the journey.
Additionally, enhanced lane information will be provided for challenging highway driving situations, such as difficult exits that require quick lane changes, to help users feel more prepared.
In the US, users will soon be able to see the availability of truck lanes on planned routes, allowing them to make more informed travel choices. Meanwhile, in Europe, AI-powered speed limiting is being rolled out to 20 countries, helping travelers maintain a safe speed even when road signs are hard to see.
Information for electric vehicles
Starting this week, Android and iOS users EV drivers will receive enhanced charging station information based on Google's existing in-vehicle capabilities. The updated features will indicate charger compatibility with specific vehicles and categorize available chargers as fast, medium or slow, helping users choose the most suitable charging station.
Additional information about electric vehicles
Additionally, since approximately 25% of all chargers in the U.S. are out of service at any given time, the platform will display the last time each charger was used to help users avoid resorting to a faulty station. This week, these improvements will be rolled out worldwide wherever information on electric vehicle charging stations is available.
New ways to search
Google is finally expanding search capabilities in Google Maps to provide travelers with even more information. Starting this week, when users search Maps for specific queries such as “best place for animal latte art” or “pumpkin patch with my dog,” they will receive visually oriented results.
These results are achieved using artificial intelligence and advanced image recognition models that analyze billions of photos posted by the Google Maps community. The visual directory allows users to find places that exactly match their criteria.
Users can scroll through the results, click on the image for more details, and then go directly to the selected location. It is initially launching in France, Germany, Japan, UK and US, with plans to expand to other countries over time.
Topic search results
When users aren't sure what to do, Google Maps will soon offer more organized search results to inspire new ideas. and plans. For example, a search for “things to do” in Tokyo, Japan will bring up topical suggestions such as “anime,” “cherry blossoms,” or “art exhibitions.”
In the coming weeks, Android and iOS users around the world will see these themed search results for events and restaurants.
