Google Maps is to provide an ‘eco-friendly’ route to drivers by default, Reuters reported. Further upgrades to make comparing transit options are also on the way.
Unless users opt out, the default route will be the “eco-friendly” one if comparable options take about the same time, Google said. When alternatives are significantly faster, Google will offer choices and let users compare estimated emissions. “What we are seeing is for around half of routes, we are able to find an option more eco-friendly with minimal or no time-cost tradeoff,” Russell Dicker, a director of product at Google, told reporters on Monday. Google said it derives emissions relative estimates by testing across different types of vehicles and road types, drawing on insights from the U.S. government’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). Road grade data comes from its Street View cars as well as aerial and satellite imagery. The potential effect on emissions from the feature is unclear.
Google announced on Monday that Google Maps is now compatible with CarPlay Dashboard and that the app is also on Apple Watch.
Google announced Thursday that iPhone owners will be able to report accidents directly in Google Maps, plus new types of incidents, too.
Check out this detailed look at Apple Maps in iOS 13 at MacStories. New features, a new look, and an aggressive move to make Apple Maps rival or beat Google Maps, make this a significant upgrade, and MacStories lay it all out.
Timed with the spread of its first-party mapping data, Apple is giving the Maps app a big upgrade in iOS 13 that represents the company’s biggest push yet to overtake Google Maps as the world’s most trusted, go-to mapping service. Apple Maps in iOS 13 represents – if you’re in the US at least – Apple’s purest vision to date for a modern mapping service. Here’s everything that it brings.
Bloomberg’s Gerrit De Vynck writes:
Service was mostly ad-free for years. That’s changing now.
Company looks beyond ‘utility’ navigation for new ad revenue.
He concludes:
Suddenly charging for something free — or slipping ads into formerly uncluttered services — are rare and risky steps for Google. But parent Alphabet Inc. has shareholders to please and revenue growth targets to hit. Maps is the next, big service the company is leaning on to achieve those goals.
Thank goodness for Apple Maps.
Waze attributes much of its success to Apple, because of the Apple Maps debacle back in 2012, and celebrates an annual Tim Cook day.
John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on the major revamp coming to Apple Maps in iOS 12.
Google Maps has a neat feature that’ll let you see back in time for a particular location—so if you want to look at the 2008 Street View of a place, say, you might be able to do just that. We’ll tell you how!
Want to use Mario as your navigation pointer for directions in Google Maps? Here’s how, but hop to it because Google is turning the feature off in a few days.
Mario is good for more than jumping on turtles and saving Princess Peach. He can also help you navigate to your next meeting, assuming you use Google Maps on your iPhone or Android phone. Google added Mario as a navigation option to its Maps app to celebrate MAR10 Day on March 10th (apparently that’s a thing). Just make sure you have the latest version of Google Maps installed, and then tap the yellow question mark button at the bottom of the directions screen to enable Mario mode. The navigation arrow changes to Mario in his little cart, zipping along your route to show you where to go. The feature is rolling out this weekend and will be available for about a week. Google Maps is a free download at Apple’s App Store.
Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at a year’s worth of data comparing Google Maps and Apple Maps and share which is their favorite.
Google updated its Google Maps app for iOS Monday. Version 4.30’s chief new feature is turn-by-turn directions on the lock screen courtesy of a Directions widget. With that widget, users can arrow through each direction in any active route from the lock screen or the Today view (swipe left on the Home Screen). Users can also send their location via Google Maps through iMessage. Both features give Google Maps a dramatically more integrated experience in iOS, erasing some of the pain points of not being the built-in Maps service for Apple’s mobile operating system. The Directions widget will need to be added to your lock screen, while the location feature is available through iMessage. The update is free, meaning you remain the product.
Google is all about April Fools Day pranks, and this year they put one inside the Google Maps app. Instead of navigating your city, you can turn it into a Ms. Pac-Man game. Seriously. Just launch the Google Maps app on your iPhone and tap the Ms. Pac-Man button. The city streets turn into the game grid and you swipe to move around and avoid the ghosts. It’s 8-bit awesomeness that makes pretty much any city cooler. If you don’t already have the Google Maps app it’s a free download at Apple’s App Store.
