6 Tips You Don’t Know to Get the Most Out of the Maps App

Google is one of the technology companies that is closest to a monopoly on several products. The most obvious is the search engine, which in countries like Europe has about 90% of the market share. It is true that it does so because of its superior quality, but the penetration of Android also contributes. And this is another one of those products for which there appears to be no competition according to the markets.

Google Maps is probably the biggest service that goes unnoticed.because it works so well and generates so few complaints, that users hardly bother to look for alternatives. Currently, giants like Amazon, Apple and Microsoft are trying to promote an alternative, but it is a long-term bet.

Most of the time Google Maps is used to navigate using a route from one point to another, but There are more and more functions in this application. Some are well-known, but others go unnoticed by users. For example, it is possible to share a location, measure a distance and much more.

Measuring distances. One of the most useful features of the application is somewhat hidden. From your mobile you can know the straight line distance between any two points. Of course, these cannot be points of interest or places, although you can select points very close to them.

What you have to do is press and hold one of the ends that we want to measure and when the bottom menu appears, slide it up. At that moment, we will look for the Measure distance option and select it. On the map, we will move the line to establish the second point. In real time, the distance between the two ends will appear at the bottom of the screen.

If we want to make a measurement of several segments, we just have to click on the white icon + symbol on a blue background in the lower right corner and move the next point by sliding your finger on the screen. If we want to cancel a section, we have to click on the arrow in the upper right corner, where we also find the delete option. Of course, distances are always calculated in straight lines and not in areas.

Set departure or arrival time. One of the reasons why Google Maps is widely used in many countries is that it has real-time traffic information thanks to the GPS positioning of millions of mobile phones. But it also has historical data that can predict, with some accuracy, what traffic will be like in the coming days.

To establish a route in the future and know at what time we will have to travel it, you must select the two points in the normal way and then click on the three-dot icon in the upper right corner to click on Set departure or arrival time. You set the desired time and the route is calculated. The only difference compared to a normal route is that the date for which said route was calculated will appear at the top.

Share location with code. In an application that literally works by addresses, it is easy to share a place but, in many cases, there is no address, because it is a path or a stretch of road. Even in the middle of the desert. To share these places, coordinates are used. You just have to click on the place, slide the bottom menu and click on the Plus Code direction. To search for it, you just have to paste it into the application’s search engine.

Make a reservation at a restaurant. More and more restaurants are focusing part of their strategy on Google Maps since many potential customers see reviews before going to the site. But, in addition to being able to see photos or read experiences, many allow you to book directly from the app.

To do this, you must open the restaurant tab, click on the Reserve icon and select the date and time. A list of times that can be selected will appear, which will vary depending on what each location establishes. When we choose one, we must go to the last screen, which allows us to confirm the data, enter a comment, such as if a high chair or space for a wheelchair is necessary, etc.

Quick access routes. If we use the mobile application a lot to go to certain places and we do not want to search for them every time, it is possible to set these addresses at the bottom of the screen. You just have to click on “Go” in the bottom menu, slide the suggestion panel that appears at the bottom and pin the suggestions by pressing the pin button. From there, they will appear at the top of this lower sliding menu.

Share your location. Although in Europe WhatsApp is the default application to share the location with someone, Google Maps also has this function, with an added advantage: it allows you to know the battery percentage of that person’s mobile phone, to know if it is exhausted. . energy. In addition, if we click on the icon with their avatar to create a route by car or on foot or otherwise from where we are to where that person is.

To share the position on Google Maps, you must click on the blue icon that marks the place where we are. Once there, we must select the Share location option. In the window that appears, we select the number of hours in which we want this location to be shared, or we select the option to share until it is canceled manually.