Google Maps has launched new features, including location alerts for arrival and departure times and photorealistic 3D bird’s eye views of famous landmarks.
- What is happening? Google Maps is getting new location sharing capabilities for arrival and departure times. There are also photo-realistic 3D aerial views of the city’s famous landmarks and vastly improved bike trails for bikers.
- Why care? Improvements in location sharing make it easier to coordinate schedules and appointments. Bikers will enjoy the more detailed route and everyone can fully immerse themselves in photorealistic views of the main attractions.
- What to do? Update Google Maps on your device, then start exploring new 3D views of points of interest and watch location sharing notifications in action.
Google Maps is getting 3 new features
The company announced the latest round of summer improvements to its Google Maps mobile app [ App Store link ] on a blog called The Keyword. You can try out two of the three new features right now – location alerts for incoming and outgoing trains, and photorealistic 3D images of major points of interest.
Expanded cycling information will be launched “in the coming weeks”in hundreds of cities where cycling routes are available on Google Maps.
Google Maps: How to View 3D Images of Points of Interest
Currently, 3D views are available for almost a hundred of the world’s most popular attractions in New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Barcelona, London and other cities. To see an aerial view, find a landmark in the app and go to the Photos section.
This is the first step towards the integration of immersive views of major cities, which will be launched later in 2022. They will combine billions of street, satellite and aerial photographs to create rich 3D images of major landmarks. “With our new immersive experience, you can easily take Maps down to street level and even look inside the business as if you were walking,” the company wrote in May 2022.
Google Maps: How to Use New Location Alerts
Google Maps now supports arrival and departure alerts similar to those you can set up in the Apple Find My app. Now it’s easier to organize meetings because you’ll get a notification on your device every time someone arrives or leaves the place. If a person chooses to share their location with you, you can additionally receive alerts when they enter or leave the location.
This can be practical in many situations. Imagine that you are going to a concert with a group of friends. The first thing you need to do is check if everyone has arrived at the venue. New location sharing alerts make this possible. Setting an alert for when a person leaves a location is even more useful in this context, as you’ll be notified if your group splits up. Read: How to Use the Google Maps Timeline
Google Maps: More detailed bike routes coming soon
Summer is a great time to get on your bike, especially with soaring gas prices, inflation and the war in Ukraine making car use inefficient. And with much more detailed cycling information coming to Google Maps, bikers have more detailed information at their disposal when planning their trip. To help you better prepare for your upcoming trip, the app now lets you compare bike routes and view more details. Read: How to get detailed bike directions with Apple Maps
Simply create bike routes to any destination. In addition to seeing your route’s altitude, you’ll also know if you’re facing heavy traffic, stairs, or steep hills. You’ll also be able to get a very detailed breakdown of the route itself, so you can see at a glance what type of road you’ll be cycling on, such as a main road or a local street. Gone are the days of unknowingly pedaling uphill or on a route with more cars than you are comfortable with.
More information on bike routes was not available at the time of writing, and Google has promised it will be available in cities where bike routes are available “in the coming weeks.”Read: How to download Google Maps data