Find Hub will finally start taking proper advantage of Google Maps

Google Maps is one of the most useful tools the company has ever created, and it’s all too easy to take what it offers for granted. Sure, we had stuff like MapQuest before it, but from basically the moment Google Maps arrived it started showing everyone else how mapping should be done. In the years since, its 3D imagery and first-person Street View photography have made distant corners of the world accessible in ways they never were before. And now, it looks like Google’s finally getting around to letting the Find Hub tap in to more of these fantastic Maps assets.

When you can’t remember where you left a device, Google’s Find Hub is your best friend, supporting everything from our phones to dedicated tracker tags. Once you pull up the Hub, you’ll be able to see where your missing hardware last pinged its location — and, of course, Google uses Maps to display those surroundings.

But so far, though, we’ve only had a very limited version of Maps to access within the Find Hub, giving us a basic vector-graphic street map view. And while that can be perfectly adequate for tracking down your missing gear, there are other times when we can’t help feel like it might be a little more useful to be using another Maps view — like maybe satellite imagery? Especially if you’re out in a rural area, positions of trees and shrubs might prove a whole lot handier than any nearby roads.

Luckily for us, Google appears to be working to correct this oversight. In version 3.1.485-2 of the Find Hub, we’ve identified some early work towards giving the app a toggle to switch between the normal map, satellite view, terrain, and even traffic density — just like in stand-alone Google Maps.

This isn’t currently available in the app, but once it’s live, you’ll see a new button in the Find Hub with the same layers icon you’ll recognize from Maps. Tapping that brings up your switcher for toggling between all the different imagery available.

Honestly, while you could probably get by reasonably fine with just the default street maps, having these options opens new doors for the Find Hub to become even more useful. We already mentioned how great satellite view could be when trying to find your phone in something like a field or a park. Terrain view might help save you from accidentally wandering into any dead-ends during your journey. And being able to easily see traffic data may help you get to your missing device in record time.

All that considered, hopefully Google doesn’t wait too long before finally opening these powerful options to Find Hub users.