La new update of Google Maps It has come with a major redesign and with the appearance of new elements as well as the disappearance of some acquaintances. The highlight is a new interface in which the search engine has changed and integrates categorized suggestions and recent searches. The other headline to highlight is the disintegration with Latitude which will disappear on August 9, as announced by the company itself.
At the moment, the update is reaching Android and iOS devices although some functions will take longer to reach the iPad. A special interface design has been made for the tablet format, with some variations with respect to the smartphone.
New Design
At first glance we see that both the search box and the menus have deepened their Google Now-style aspect, that is, they follow more deeply Holo. The presence of menus with white backgrounds and information cards enters the picture.
Explore
If we click on the search bar, our recent searches and the Explore button will appear. If we press it, we will get a series of categorized suggestions in Eating, Drinking, Shopping, Enjoying and Sleeping offered by the places and establishments in the area with the best evaluation. Within each of them there are subcategories to refine the search. All of it is present in some cards that we find more and more in Google services as well as the ratings, the number of reviews written and the distance to the place.
Ratings
I have cited evaluations and it is that now these will be more present with a system of 5 star rating that appears directly when we do a search or in the explore section. The integration with the Zagat guide and with the Google Offers offers It is also there, but it affects us little to the extent that we are outside the United States.
Navigation and traffic
Now in navigation it is includes traffic data and has the ability to recalculate routes if by the state of the road we could not continue for the one we had taken. This detail will wait a bit on iOS. Again, we should not expect much of this information in Spain. We'll see if with Waze on board we are improving fast in this regard.
Location and disappearance of Latitude
One of the aspects that users have criticized the most is the disappearance of Latitude. The company's location service is going away on August 9, so it is understandable that the company is not including it in this update. It is replaced by the ability to check-in or share our location with Google+. As you can see, they are taking many details from Foursquare, although the clarity when using these is conspicuous by its absence and they are somewhat difficult.
offline maps
It also has the ability to save maps to view offline or offline mode, storing them in the cache. You just have to write the words OK Maps in the search bar and it will save the map that we are seeing at that moment. It is terribly reminiscent of OK Glass from the famous Mountain View smart glasses. This is another detail that will work or not depending on where we are. At the moment it does not seem to work in Spain but it does in other North European countries.
Send feedback
If there is any address or place that is misrepresented, you can tell Google by shaking your smartphone or tablet. A dialog box will guide you to determine what the problem is.
Installation
If you have an android device, it is more than likely that you have not received the update yet. First of all, you should know that it will only be given on devices with the operating system Android 4.0 or higher. If you want to have it now, here are two links to APK download provided by our colleagues at Android Pit, but only for Jelly Bean. Remember that you must have the option to install applications from unknown sources activated. Go to Settings> Security and check the box.
Source: Google MapsBlog