At Google I/O 2013, the company showed off a completely new Maps experience which it said was built from the ground up to bring together Street View and satellite imagery into a much more interactive setting. Since then only those who requested an invitation to the preview were able to get the new Google Maps, and during all this time the company has worked on adding more features and improving upon almost everything it showed us back at I/O 2013. Today is the day that the new Google Maps finally comes out of preview. Starting today, this will be rolled out as the default Google Maps desktop experience for all users around the globe.
The new Maps is also a lot smarter than ever before. Finding new places is easier, for example simply searching for coffee in a neighborhood brings up results and snippets on the map itself. When a particular result is clicked on, the map will automatically suggest related results. Street View previews and real-time traffic report now making commuting a lot easier, with Maps being able to find the most efficient route to the destination, whether it be by car, bike or train. Users will also be able to “see the world from every angle,” Maps enables them to look up notable landmarks and even fly above them in 3D, offering easy access to all of this in a new carousel in the bottom of the map. Since its a major product redesign, the team is aware that “there may be bumps along the road.”
The new Google Maps experience will be gradually rolled out for all users around the world. Even if you’re not immediately about to see it, fret not, it will be live within the next couple of days.
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