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Google Maps Live View is getting a lot easier to use
It's now accessible from the map view and available indoors
In 2019 Google added Live View to Maps, a feature that uses AR to overlay directions onto the real world. Since then, Google has slowly improved it, and that continues today at I/O 2021, now allowing us to use it from the map itself.
Google Maps is getting a ton of new features — here's what to expect and when
Indoor Live View AR navigation, weather and air quality layers, grocery pickup integration, eco routing, and more
Google Maps is easily one of the company's most successful products. The era of using a paper guide or linear follow-them-or-get-lost MapQuest directions is long over. And though some competing services like Apple Maps might be prettier, Google Maps is king when it comes to functionality, tools, and services integrations. But the best-of-the-best is getting better this summer, and Google is rolling out a handful of new tools and tweaks, like indoor AR navigation, weather and air quality information, grocery pickup integration, and tweaks to reduce your dead-dinosaur-burning car's carbon footprint.
Google Maps gets improved busyness and COVID-19 information along with Live View enhancements
Making safety more convenient
When the pandemic first struck, Google Maps struggled to stay up to date with temporary business closures and vital coronavirus information, but that has changed over recent months, complete with a new COVID-19 layer. The service has become one of the most reliable resources for information on business closures, busyness, and finding takeaway options. To make moving around even safer, places' busyness and COVID-19 information will now be even more prominent in the app. There are also improvements to Live View, giving you more details on businesses without ever leaving the AR mode.
Google Maps is upgrading its AR Live View mode with some impressive ML-powered tricks
Live View will include landmarks and be available while using transit directions and location sharing
Travelers have relied on Google Maps for years to navigate and explore the world around them, and when Live View was introduced last year, it unlocked even more possibilities. Now Google is announcing some upcoming improvements to Live View, including popular landmarks and location sharing.
Google Pixel owners are getting futuristic AR location sharing in Maps
Handy when you try to walk toward each other
Live View in Maps is one of Google's more impressive technologies. It guides you through the real world via an AR overlay on your screen, showing you exactly which way to turn, which is pretty handy when you're in an unfamiliar city and have an unreliable compass. Starting with Pixel phones running Android 11, Google is making this feature even more useful. When a friend is sharing their location with you, you'll be able to navigate to them via Live View.
Google rolled out its augmented reality "Live View" navigation for Google Maps last year, but it looks like not everyone has been able to enjoy it. For some Pixel 4 owners, the feature doesn't appear, leaving many with Google's own flagship unable to use one of Google Maps' coolest features.
Back in February, Google started testing an AR navigation feature that leveraged a phone's camera to overlay directions pointing towards a user's destination. The functionality has been available to Local Guides for the past few months, and the company is now rolling it out more globally after successful testing. For the occasion, it has also given it a name: Live View.