Biggest update in years brings help against DANA and connection with Waze

If there is one essential application that travelers should have on their mobile, whether on foot, on public transport or by car, it is Google Maps. The Internet giant has managed to create the reference platform for maps, thanks both to its precise directions and, above all, to the gigantic database of roads, locations and incidents in real time that guarantee that there will be no unpleasant surprises.

Therefore, a big update like the one Google announced today can be a little scary; We’ve seen many cases of popular apps going astray, pardon the pun, by implementing controversial changes that didn’t help users. The good news is that this doesn’t seem to be the case.

The next new features coming to Google Maps will focus on improving the existing base, and not on introducing a “revolution” in the application. A good example is the improvements introduced in the navigation mode, which now clearly shows the waysin addition to important features on the road such as pedestrian crossings and traffic signs.

Maps can use this information to show more precise directions, such as the exact path we should be in leave or rejoin a road. Now a blue line will indicate the exact path we need to follow and the app will display lane indicators.

Overall, Google Maps Driving Mode will show more information than ever before, with the goal of helping users drive with less stress. With the problems caused by the worst DANA in history, drivers will appreciate that Google Maps now displays weather-related incidentssuch as a flooded road, frost, snow or poor visibility situations.

Drivers will be able to report these weather incidents, in the same way that they can already report accidents or traffic jams. This is one of the functions that Google Maps has “copied” from Waze, but those responsible for both applications have emphasized that it is a collaboration, and to demonstrate it, they have announced that Incidents published on Waze will also be displayed on Google Mapsand vice versa. Google has unified the platforms of the two applications so that incident notifications are shared automatically.

Google Maps remains useful even when you get out of the car, sometimes literally; And another great novelty is found in the parking indicators at our destination. Once we stop, the app will inform us that we can save our parking location and will guide us to the entrance of the building. This way we will not get lost looking for a way to get to our destination and we will know how to get back to our car when we are finished, using the map, Street View or the augmented reality view.

And if when we return we want to explore interesting places, the new Google Maps function will help us; Now it will be easier to know if there is nearby points of interest on our routeand edit it to include them. When we have created a route, simply click on “Add a stop” and Maps will show us the main places of interest, attractions, scenic spots and restaurants.

It must be taken into account that not all of these new features will be available to everyone at the same time. For example, this latest feature of adding stops will be available worldwide starting next week, but the enhanced navigation experience, with lanes and signs, will arrive in 30 cities first and it is planned to expand it to more locations.

Likewise, the other great novelty of Google Maps will not be available in Europe for the moment, but will be launched first in the United States. We are talking about Gemini integration in Google Mapswhich is perhaps one of the least surprising developments given that the AI-based assistant is already prevalent across all of Google’s apps. But just because it’s not a surprise doesn’t mean it’s not interesting, because the Maps development team seems to have managed to integrate Gemini without affecting the experience, but only improving it.

The Gemini integration will not bother us in basic functions like navigation, but will appear in the place recommendations and information signs of sites; The idea is that we can ask AI to make our next plans and find new places that we may have overlooked until now.

For example, we can ask for help with projects with our friends in the evening, and Gemini will show us suggestions like a themed bar or a concert hall. When we click on a location, the panel that displays information about the site has changed a lot, and now almost all categories contain information created by Gemini; for example, showing what the general opinion of customers is or a descriptive summary of the location.

We can also ask Gemini about details like the atmosphere or if he has a patio to sit on. However, Google clarified that all this information comes from “real humans”and at any time we can continue to see the opinions of these users. Speaking of AI, Gemini will soon come to Rivian’s electric cars, which can use it to display summaries of places like restaurants and businesses on touchscreens.

What we’re going to start seeing in Europe is more cities with immersive views. This technology attracted a lot of attention when it was announced, but only a few cities were available to explore in this way. Immersive View uses a mix of photography, AI and computer vision to create replicas of cities that we can visit on our mobile, including details such as traffic conditions and lighting changes depending on the location. ‘hour. The immersive view will now also help us find parking and show us any complicated turns we might encounter on our route. Vista Immersiva will expand to 150 cities around the world, among which are Spanish cities.