Skip to main content

Next-gen Google Maps brings better imagery, tailored results, and more

New Google Maps
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The all-encompassing world of Google Maps has always been remarkable. Today at Google I/O, we were blown away by the new version of Google Maps. Though we got a sneak peak of it this morning when the sign-up page was leaked, the new version of Google Maps is launching today by invite only for the desktop. During the keynote, the Maps team started by reminding us what Google Maps once looked like when it launched in 2005 (it was only a map of the U.S), and then showed off the brand new version of Maps, which includes more detailed directions, social network integration, and tons of 3D images. Oh, and real time clouds. Yes, Google now knows what the clouds are doing in real time!

First up, those ubiquitous red pins are no longer taking center stage. Smaller markers with the name of the businesses next to them will be joining the pins. Click on the name and you’ll see information, reviews on a new five-star scale, and the businesses Zagat review if applicable. Google has also made it so that you can filter search results by places your friends have reviewed (but only your super-cool Google+ friends). When you click on a business, related roads, such as the closest major intersection, and places are highlighted. Clicking on a random part of the map will bring up a card with information about that location.

google_map_customized_1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The new Maps now has the ability to create personal landmarks to give you a better idea of where a new place is located. For example, you can mark a favorite restaurant as a landmark and search for places around there. Additionally, the landmark will appear in other searches and directions so that you have a reference point. Your searches within Maps, your favorited locations, and your published reviews are combined by Google to make more personalized recommendations. Think of it like the music app Pandora, but for restaurants instead of songs.

Recommended Videos

Directions from your designated home, or current location if you’re not home, are available as usual, but now they compare how long it would take to drive versus how long it would take on public transit. Speaking of public transit, Google now displays a full daily schedule for public transportation instead of just giving a couple of public transit times within directions. 

googlemaps_public_transport
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The most visually impressive difference with the new Google Maps is 3D images. Maps now compiles images that have been uploaded to Google to create a full inside view of places. All of the images Google has for a place, including Street View and photo tours, are accessible through the carousel along the bottom of the screen. It’s striking to see the inside of everywhere from St. Peter’s Basilica to a local restaurant. Users are able to upload their own photo spheres of the inside a place and they will appear on Google Maps. It sounds like the majority of the indoor images are coming from user uploads, which makes us wonder if there will be gaps in a building because no one has photographed and uploaded it yet. 

googlemaps_st_peters
Image used with permission by copyright holder

During the demo, the map moved smoothly while zooming in and out. Zoom out has been enhanced, too. You can now zoom all the way out to see the earth and its current position relative to the sun on your desktop. This is where the real time clouds also appear. Manipulate the earth, spin it around and watch how it looks at night as the sun sets and the lights of the world turn on. It’s incredible to see. 

googlemap_earth
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google made several updates to its mobile and tablet apps which will debut this summer. One of the most notable for the tablet version of Google Maps is a new exploration feature that suggests places in multiple categories based on your location and what you have searched for previously.

Updated 5/15/13: Added details about personalized recommendations and photo carousel.

Meghan McDonough
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Meghan J. McDonough is a Chicago-based purveyor of consumer technology and music. She previously wrote for LAPTOP Magazine…
We just got our first hint of the RTX 6090, but it’s not what you think
A hand grabbing MSI's RTX 4090 Suprim X.

As we're all counting down the days to a possible announcement of Nvidia's RTX 50-series, GPU brands are already looking ahead to what comes next. A new trademark filing with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) reveals just how far ahead some manufacturers are thinking, because it mentions not just the Nvidia RTX 5090, but also an RTX 5090 Ti; there's even an RTX 6090 Ti. Still, it'll be a long while before we can count the RTX 60-series among the best graphics cards, so what is this all about?

The trademark registration filing, first spotted by harukaze5719 on X (formerly Twitter) and shared by VideoCardz, comes from a company called Sinotex International Industrial Ltd. This company is responsible for the GPU brand Ninja, which doesn't have much of a market presence in the U.S.

Read more
How the Blue Screen of Death became your PC’s grim reaper
The Blue Screen of Death seen on a laptop.

There's nothing more startling than your PC suddenly locking up and crashing to a Blue Screen of Death. Otherwise known as a Blue Screen, BSOD, or within the walls of Microsoft, a bug check screen, the Blue Screen of Death is as iconic as it is infamous. Blue Screen of Death is not a proper noun, but I'm going to treat it like one. It's what you were met with during crashes on Intel's 14th-gen CPUs, and it littered airport terminals during the recent CrowdStrike outage.

Everyone knows that a Blue Screen is bad news -- tack on "of Death" to that, and the point is only clearer. It's a sign that something catastrophic has happened, so much so that the operating system can't recover, and it needs to reboot your PC in order to save it. The Blue Screen of Death we know today, fit with its frowning emoticon, is a relatively new development in the history of Windows.

Read more
The performance downgrade made to the M4 Pro that no one is talking about
Someone using a MacBook Pro M4.

I've spent this whole week testing the new M4 chip, specifically the M4 Pro in both the Mac mini and 16-inch MacBook Pro. They are fantastic, impressive chips, but in my testing, I noticed something pretty surprising about the way they run that I haven't seen others talk much about. I'm talking about the pretty significant change Apple made in this generation to power modes.

First off, Apple has extended the different power modes to the "Pro" level chips for the first time, having kept it as an exclusive for Max in the past. The three power modes, found in System Settings, are the following: Low Power, Automatic, and High Power. The interesting thing, however, is that in my testing, the Low Power drops performance far more this time around.

Read more