At the beginning of February 2014, Google updated its Google Maps platform on Android devices to include some of the most commonly requested features and to fix up some of the bugs that existed in previous versions. The new updates will make several things easier: 1) navigating among different types of transportation, 2) avoiding unwanted routes, and 3) letting Google know if something is inaccurate or needs to be updated. Google also cleaned up the appearance of the app. Fewer buttons and menus are shown so that unessential features do not overwhelm you and a more user-friendly environment is created. The app includes additional 360 Streetview, 3D imaging of buildings, and live traffic information as well as updated indoor maps for certain airports, hotels, college campuses, and shopping malls. Here is a rundown on some of the most notable improvements as well as the problems with the new Google Maps 7.6 update.
Improvements –
- The Ability to Pick the Transit Mode You Prefer
One of the most useful and helpful additions to this new update happens to be the option to pick a preferred type of transit so that every time you perform a search, those results automatically come up. If you live in an urban area or simply don’t have a car, you can immediately acquire access to bus or subway schedules without having to navigate around the app. In addition to allowing you to select among preferred modes of transportation, the update lets you look up and compare different types of transportation to give you a complete summary of directions and timetables so that you can pick the fastest and most convenient route. For example, when you perform a search and select as your preferred transit modes ‘bus’ and ‘subway’, the results will yield the earliest approximate arrival time for both the bus and subway so you can pick what works best for you.
- More Prominent and Toggle-Friendly Business Offers
Google Offers is not a new feature but it is much more prominent on Google Maps 7.6. This allows businesses to display specials and offers directly on their map location, which is updated through a Google Places account. You can now toggle through the offers that are active and the history of older offers that you have used. These offers will be displayed when you click on the desired location on the map or enter an address. The information will be displayed from the bottom of the screen. It includes the approximate distance from your location, local reviews, links to pertinent information such as business hours, menus, descriptions, and more.
- Increased Application Utilization
Prior to this update, when you used your phone to look up specific information or to find a business, it would display the information in the browser. This new Google application update will open up the Google Maps application on your phone once a link is clicked in the browser. You can now search for what you are looking for directly on your phone. Browsing for information in the mobile-based application will optimize the experience, giving you much faster results that are easier to obtain.
- Improved Real-time Traffic Updates
The new Google Maps update has improved real-time traffic updates, making it easier to avoid undesired driving situations such as heavy traffic, highways, toll booths, and ferries (for destinations that involve crossing a body of water). This allows the route to be tailored to your needs. Google is capable of providing these new features thanks to its recent purchase of the popular crowdsourcing application Waze.
Setbacks –
- An Absence of Offline Maps
One of the major setbacks of this update is that it essentially eliminated the use of offline maps. That means that a cell phone will have to be in constant connection with a cellular data plan or Wi-Fi signal for the maps to work and for you to find out where you’re headed. This concept was implemented in order to help you receive the most up-to-date information available and to eliminate obsolete or antiquated data; however, it doesn’t seem to have the expected results. The only alternative to get around this problem is to either take a screenshot of the map on the screen for a general look at the map or to cache a portion of a map location in your phone to look at later. Having a less detailed map in a large city defeats the purpose if someone is trying to use the map while traveling or without using up precious and limited data.
- Custom Locations Lack Descriptions
This update does allow you to set up custom locations by clicking on the map and saving the star but it sets the location by using a mailing address and it doesn’t have a section to put in a description of the location or any notes about what it is. For example, if you are trying to find a certain apartment unit, saving the address will only take you as far as the entrance to the complex. It will not help you find the building you are looking for or remember which apartment unit it is. If you are someone who likes to set up multiple custom locations on your phone, you may not be able to tell which is which when you try to find the same place again.
- Reports of GPS Crashing
Although the application update is a little over a week old, the number one complaint from other application users who updated their devices is that they keep losing the GPS signal during navigation. As a result, the GPS could potentially fail to tell you to make a turn on time because it lost the signal. If it happens to retrieve the signal before you get too lost, it will proceed to reroute you once the signal is restored, which could take much longer to get to your destination.
- My Places Is No Longer Available to Use
The second most reported problem with the new update is that it doesn’t let you access your ‘My Places’ list to enter saved locations for the start or end location when navigating. Now you will be forced to manually enter the address information for both locations. This problem might not be as tragic as some of the reported previous problems but it does provide a bit of inconvenience in the overall usability of the app.