Google Maps: Making maps cool again

Around 12 years ago, in an unfamiliar part of the city, I was lost. It was late in the evening and barring the occasional car that whizzed by, there was no person on the street. It took me a lot of random guesswork and luck to somehow find my way back home.

Fast forward to 2020. If I find myself in a similar situation, all I need to do is whip out my phone, tap into the Google maps app and confidently head to wherever I wish to go, with multiple options from walking, driving (on cars and bikes), public transport and so on to choose from. In fact, I can now actually book an Uber using the map functions to get me home, and also buy a meal on Zomato, that would be delivered to me in quick time with the rider using maps on his phone. Traffic jams are still a major hassle, but with maps, you can easily find out better shortcuts and avoid heavy traffic corridors.

Though most people would feel that a search engine and a free email service would be one of Google’s legacy to the internet, Google maps that turned 15 recently, should deserve a place on the list as well. It is by far the most popular navigation tools on the planet and according to Google is used by more than a billion people across the world.

Launched on February 8, 2005, Google’s navigation app – Google Maps – provides satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, realtime traffic, route planning and so on. Over time, it has evolved from a static online representation of an offline atlas to a GPS-powered navigation tool and on to a platform for reviews. From offering basic outlines of streets and the occasional tourist hotspot, it has gone on to provide a slew of services and has multiple businesses running using the platform.

It began life as a C++ program at Where 2 Technologies. In October 2004, the company was acquired by Google, which converted it into a web application. After a few more acquisitions, Google Maps was launched in February 2005 with an API that allows maps to be embedded on third-party websites.

Almost all the tech tools that make our life easy, from hailing cabs (Uber and Ola), exercise tracking (Google Fit), Ordering in food (Zomato and Swiggy), use Google maps, though some of the newer companies have begun to use open-source maps as well.

It has made travelling easier and if the recent documentary on Netflix is to be believed, it has helped users nab a serial killer halfway across the world. This of course, apart from the fact that it has ensured that no one with a functional smartphone can get lost again. All the predictions and route choices offered by Maps are based on a combination of real time and a large cache of historic data.

As part of the 15th anniversary, Google has tweaked the app and added new features to one of its most popular apps across the globe. More than 1 billion people now turn to Google Maps to see and explore the world, the company said.

The maps app now includes five easy-to-access tabs: explore, commute, saved, contribute and updates.

The change to design starts with the new colourful icon, that looks a lot like the symbolic pin that users had to drop to send locations to each other. The Google blog says, “ We’re also updating our look with a new Google Maps icon that reflects the evolution we’ve made mapping the world. It’s based on a key part of Google Maps since the very beginning—the pin— and represents the shift we’ve made from getting you to your destination to also help you discover new places and experiences.

Moreover, a pile of new features such as temperature that lets users check in advance if the temperature is considered by past riders as cold or warm, accessibility options that let users identify public transit lines with staffed assistance, accessible entrance and seating and so on are also being introduced.
One of the major changes is that the ‘For You’ tab has been junked in favour of three new tabs, Saved, Contribute and Updates. While the Saved tab will help you with nearby attractions, a must for a traveller, Contribute lets users add on more information about the places one visits. The updates sections offer the users interesting events happening in nearby locations.

This is not a one-off. The company has been updating maps for almost a year, making design tweaks, adding a host of new features such as augmented reality (AR) directions and support for incognito browsing as well.

Over the coming months, “ we’ll be expanding Live View and testing new capabilities, starting with better assistance whenever you’re searching for a place. You’ll be able to quickly see how far away and in which direction a place is, the company had said in a post recently.

What’s next?

Last year, Google had launched Live View to help users decide which way to go when you start a walking route with Google Maps. By combining Street View’s real-world imagery, machine learning and smartphone sensors, Live View shows you your surroundings with the directions overlaid in augmented reality, the company says. As the world moves more into the AR and VR space, it will be interesting to see the changes that the platform sees in the next few years.

Privacy and more

Of course, this has meant that privacy issues have been a constant bugbear for the platform and an issue where it may have ceded ground to its competitor in the space, Apple. Though Apple is far behind in the maps business at the moment, it is looking at user privacy. In response to the difficulties Google experienced with its Location History feature, Apple said its app requires no sign-in and says its personalised feature are “created using on-device intelligence.”

As Apple launches out its newer version of maps, it will be interesting to see how the battle between the tech giants will pan out and on if Google will also incorporate some of the privacy measures on the Maps platform.