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9 oddball Waze celebrity voices that deserve a listen
Outlandish, fun, off-beat alternatives to boring text-to-speech driving prompts
Proof that not all ads are annoying, Waze celebrity voice prompts originated as a way to interest drivers in seeing movies. They actually played a big role in propping the company up before Google acquired it, and continue to give the service some personality and help it stand out from Android Auto. Over the years, we've seen everything from popular sci-fi franchises to a Malaysian rapper-turned-politician lend their dulcet tones to the comprehensive driving directions app. Only available for a limited time, some of the retired ones really stand out.
Google Maps is finally making glanceable directions widely available
The changes are rolling out across devices and regions
Google developers have invested significant efforts in improving the navigation experience in Maps throughout 2023, as we witnessed with the journey behind creating Immersive View. Efforts like this make Maps one of our favorite navigation apps on Android, but along the way, it also announced features like glanceable directions, which we haven’t seen on our devices yet. That is changing now, because Google Maps is becoming a lot more useful on your lock screen.
Google Maps' new Go tab takes you to frequently-visited places in a tap
You won't have to manually look up your gym or school anymore
Everyone deserves the freedom of mobility, no matter if they own their devices — feet, bike, car, pogo stick — or not. Fortunately for people planning out journeys via public transportation or vehicleshare services, Google Maps has been picking those methods up one by one by one to offer a better real-time navigation experience. Now, the app is incorporating these so-called "first mile" and "last mile" solutions for people looking for transit directions.
If you ride a bus, tram, or train in India and use Google Maps to help you get where you need to be, you're about to get some useful, timely information. The company has not just been working to expand its availability of transit scheduling information, but improve upon its accuracy. In 10 of the largest Indian cities, commuters will be able to see live India Railways train statuses, traffic-impacted bus trip times, and new navigation suggestions tat integrate auto-rickshaw into other public transit modes.
Google is more and more integrated into our daily lives: Many of us use the company's email, calendar, and Assistant services, which work seamlessly with each other. They can be particularly handy when you receive an email for an event, which is then automatically recognized as a calendar appointment and added to your schedule. The day of the event, Assistant can remind you of this meeting and even tell you how long you'll need to get there. However, in order for all of this to work, Google's services need to be available where you need them, which is unfortunately not always the case. The company is taking a step toward making life easier for people living or visiting Bulgaria by adding support for public transportation into Maps.
With every few updates, Google Maps seems to walk closer and closer to a full-fledged refresh of its Material interface, helping it go along with the new direction Google is taking this year with its app design language. We've seen a new look for the main interface, an updated side menu, overhauled hotel listings, new fonts in many places throughout the app, a persistent Overview/Reviews/Photos bar on some place listings, and even an update to the look of the app on Android Auto. But over the past couple of days, one more part of the app is getting its re-looking session: Directions.
The single largest omission present in Google Maps Go (and, in part, Android Go) was the lack of proper navigation support. If you tried to use the app to get turn-by-turn directions, you were pretty much out of luck, as it would just point you to the more fully-featured Google Maps app—basically defeating the purpose of a "maps" app, in my opinion. Well, Maps Go still can't do navigation, but Google has seen fit to break that functionality out into yet another Go app: Navigation for Google Maps Go.
Finding directions is a popular use for Google Assistant, but what if you aren't driving? Or, what if you only drive sometimes, but your commute involves walking or biking? Google appears to be rolling out a new setting in Assistant to accommodate this situation. It's got the very casual name "Getting around."
Most of us rely on Google Maps to find directions when we don't know the way ourselves. Maps defaults to showing you the fastest route based on the data it has at its disposal. Although, maybe that's not the way you want to go. There's some good news if you always have to set preferences for routes like avoiding highways or tolls. Maps now remembers them.
Last month a few Google Maps users started seeing a new display style for the direction indicator, that little arrow that shows which way your device is pointed (or at least which way it thinks it's pointed) on the primary maps and navigation interface. Specifically, it's no longer an arrow: it's a more general "beam" indicator that shows both the approximate direction you're facing and how accurate your device's orientation reporting is. According to the official Google Maps blog, that feature is now rolling out to all users.
It can be convenient to pull up directions at a PC while you're sitting at your desk, but you're not going to lug that thing outside to the car when it's time to hit the road. That means you have to get the directions to your phone or tablet, which often means just searching a second time. Back in April, Google tried to alleviate this issue by introducing the ability to send directions directly from Search. Now the company is providing the option to send the information from desktop Maps to the Android app.
In Lebanon, we have one seaside road where traffic direction reverses reliably at 11am and 11pm to lower congestion and help more people get into or out of Beirut as fast as possible. It doesn't do miracles on very busy days, but it helps a bit. The idea isn't unique to us and if you live in big metropolitan U.S areas with heavy traffic on some of the highways, then you know what reversible lanes are. The problem is that mapping software doesn't take these lanes into consideration when planning your routes, or isn't always up-to-date on the direction or load of traffic in those lanes.
About two years ago Google announced the expansion of its Maps turn-by-turn navigation to 20 countries. Chile didn't figure on that list, but some of the country's Android users reported getting directions and a limited set of functionality on Maps. That seems to be expanded to full support now.
If you're looking for a nearby place to eat and want directions on how to get there, open Google Maps first. If you try using the Google Search app or the web, you probably won't get the results you want.
Google Enables Biking Navigation In Google Maps For Germany, France, Poland, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein
Bicycling enthusiasts in Europe (of which there are many) are getting a present from Google today with the addition of biking directions in Google Maps
Bicycling enthusiasts in Europe (of which there are many) are getting a present from Google today with the addition of biking directions in Google Maps for six new countries. Cyclists in Germany, France, Poland, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein can now pull down routes that take into account the available biking trails, paths, and lanes. This applies to mobile and desktop apps.
Google Launches Indoor Maps For The UK, Can't Avoid Rain Jokes Any Better Than I Can
Indoor maps are becoming the hot new thing in the world of not getting lost. Google may be using fancy 3D planes to map everything the sky can see, but
Indoor maps are becoming the hot new thing in the world of not getting lost. Google may be using fancy 3D planes to map everything the sky can see, but sometimes it's just as easy to get lost in a train station as it is in a city. Google's recent indoor maps have made navigating easier, and now UK locations are being added to the supported list.
Google Maps App Updated To 6.7 - Brings Google Offers, Indoor Directions, 360 Panorama Views For Businesses
Google Maps App Updated To 6.7
The Google Maps Android app has been updated to version 6.7, bringing some new important (and useful) features. You probably figured out what they are. Here's the changelog:
Garmin International, the world leader in satellite navigation, has announced Smartphone Link for Android, an app which allows your Android-powered device to communicate seamlessly with your nüvi via Bluetooth, enabling live traffic information, traffic cam images, weather info and fuel prices to be displayed quickly and easily.