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Google Maps' new AR signs will help you find your hotel
- Google Maps is receiving several updates, including a Live View with AR signs for landmarks and streets.
- You can also see busy areas at a glance, and the map will adapt to when and where you’re travelling.
- Navigation will even try to avoid hard-braking moments.
Google Maps is about to make it much easier to navigate around an unfamiliar city now that travel is slowly resuming. The company revealed multiple Google Maps updates at its I/O conference that will help you find what you’re looking for, particularly if you want to use Live View.
Live View in Maps now includes a host of augmented reality signs that identify key landmarks. You’ll know where your hotel or a famous landmark is, for instance. Virtual street labels help you find your way around tricky intersections. And if you’re looking for a place to eat or shop, you can access Live View directly from the map and see details about nearby places, including busyness and reviews.
Other Maps updates should be handy even if you don’t care for Live View. Maps now indicates how busy areas are at a glance, and will highlight the most relevant locations on the map based on the time of day and whether or not you’re traveling — you may see breakfast spots in the morning, or tourist locations if you’re away from your hometown.
Driving directions, meanwhile, will use AI and navigation info to help you avoid “hard-braking moments” like gridlock that could lead to a crash. The technology will automatically suggest these safer routes if the arrival time isn’t likely to significantly change.
Google will roll out the updates to Live View and other Maps features to both Android and iOS users in the “coming months.” You should also see enhanced street maps reach 50 new cities (including Berlin, Seattle, and Singapore) by the end of 2021.