Have you ever ended up in a new, unfamiliar neighborhood, desperately searching for the nearest coffee shop?
If so, Google Maps’ latest update may be what you’ve been looking for.
The tech giant has updated its map color scheme and added new icons to help users quickly identify different points of interest.
Places like a cafe, church, museum, zoo or hospital will have a designated color and icon to make it easier for users to find what they’re looking for.
For example, if you’re looking for a coffee shop in a new neighborhood, you could open Google Maps and look for the nearest orange icon – the color code for Food and Drink places.
Google Maps has also updated the driving, navigation, transit and explore maps to better highlight the information most relevant to each experience – such as construction work signs for driving and train stations for transit
The new updates are set to roll out over the news few weeks in all Google products that incorporate Google Maps.
Google Maps has also updated the driving, navigation, transit and explore maps to better highlight the information most relevant to each experience – such as gas stations for navigation and train stations for transit.
Google made a cheat sheet of the new colors and icons to help users become acquainted with the new look
Google made a cheat sheet of the new colors and icons to help users become acquainted with the new look.
Google products set to incorporate the new feature include Google Assistant, Google Search, Google Earth, and Android Auto.
Over time, the new style will also appear in the apps, websites and experiences offered by companies that use Google Maps APIs as well.
Google has updated its map color scheme and added new icons to help users quickly identify different points of interest. For example, if you’re looking for a coffee shop, you could open Google Maps and look for the nearest orange icon – the color code for Food and Drink places
The new Google icons will help people looking for places of worship. The list includes dedicated icons for Mormon Temples, Hindu Temples and Shinto Temples
Other recent additions to Google Maps include the new video review feature.
The feature, launched in September, allows users to create 10-second video clips in the Maps app or upload 30-second clips from their camera roll to describe their experiences at destinations in a new way.
Google first rolled out the feature to Local Guides, a community of users who share tips and photos about places on the Maps app.
Anyone can join Local Guides, but it appears only Android users can post videos so far (though anyone using a web browser can view them)
To create a video on the app, Local Guides can simply: search and select a place on Google Maps, scroll down and tap ‘Add a photo,’ tap ‘camera’ and hold the shutter button for up to 10 seconds.
Google has added a new feature to maps: video reviews. Now users can create 10-second clips in the Maps app or upload 30-second clips from their camera rolls. Google first rolled out the feature to Local Guides, a community of users who share tips and photos about places
They can also post videos up to 30 seconds long from their camera rolls by tapping ‘Folder’ and selecting a video to upload.
Though many Local Guides are already asking, the new tool doesn’t yet support 360 videos.