Google Maps got a new update this month and it’s introduced some cool new features.
In a blog post posted on April 5, the tech giant revealed a whole host of new features for Google Maps that have been designed to make things easier to use as well as introducing more functionality to the ubiquitous app.
According to Google, these features are intended to help you “say goodbye to road trip and vacation planning woes”, and “help you plan your drive, save money and explore a new place”.
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The first of those big new features is that if your journey involves driving on toll roads, Google Maps will give you an estimated toll price before you start navigating.
This new feature will work on both iOS and Android phones, and will be able to work out toll prices for “nearly 2000 toll roads in the U.S., India, Japan and Indonesia – with more countries coming soon”.
Google Maps will also show toll-free routes as an option if they’re available and you can choose to avoid any toll roads altogether by selecting the “avoid tolls” setting in your route options, just like you could before the latest update.
The second big new feature is that the navigation map has been re-designed to make it more detailed, which will include traffic lights and stop signs along your route as well as building outlines, areas of interest, and even the shape and width of the road (including if it has any medians or islands).
The new navigation map will work across iOS, Android, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, and it’s being rolled out to “select countries over the coming weeks”.
The third major thing that has changed with the new Google Maps update is that it’s been much better integrated into iOS.
iOS users will be able to access Google Maps directly from the home screen with new widgets that have been created specifically for the operating system.
The app will soon be able to be accessible directly from an Apple Watch, and you’ll be able to use Google Maps with the Siri, Spotlight and Shortcuts apps.
The new iOS widgets will become available in the coming weeks, whilst the integrations with Siri, Spotlight and Shortcuts will arrive within the next few months.
Integration with Spotlight and Shortcuts will come first and for Siri it will come later at some point during the summer.
