Google Maps with new updates

Google Maps announces new updates for its Live View feature. Google adds COVID layer in Maps for safe travel in 220 nations.

San Francisco:Google has announced a few updates for the Live View experience in Google Maps including popular landmarks and location sharing features. Earlier it had introduced a COVID layer in Maps for safe travel.

Google Maps with new updates

"With new ways to use Live View, we're making it even easier to orient yourself in the world whether you're walking around, leaving a public transit station or meeting up with friends," Mirko Ranieri, Product Manager, Google Maps, said in a statement.

• Soon when a person is in Live View mode, the location of nearby landmarks will appear in order to help users find their bearings and navigate more confidently. Live View will show how far away landmarks are, as well as which direction to walk in to get there.
• The feature includes other iconic landmarks as well as things like local parks and tourist attractions.
• This capability will be live soon on Android and iOS in many cities worldwide including Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Dubai, Florence, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Kyoto, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Munich, New York, Osaka, Paris, Prague, Rome, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, and Vienna, with more regional expansion set in the future.
• Google is also integrating the Live View feature into the transit directions tab. This could be helpful if a person is only planning on walking for part of his or her route.
• Live View in Location Sharing will also be available on Android and iOS in the near future. This was initially announced for the Pixel phones last month when Android 11 became available.
• In addition, Maps also added improvements to its pin, taking into account the elevation of a place to more accurately display its location in Live View.

Earlier, Google in a bid to help people navigate safely in the pandemic time had added the COVID layer in Maps that will show critical information about COVID-19 cases in an area people plan to visit in 220 countries.

• Data featured in the COVID layer comes from multiple authoritative sources, including Johns Hopkins, the New York Times, and Wikipedia who, in turn, get data from public health organizations like the World Health Organisation, government health ministries, along with state and local health agencies and hospitals.
• When you open Google Maps, tap on the layers button on the top right-hand corner of the screen and click on "COVID-19 info".
  

"You'll then see a seven-day average of new Covid cases per 100,000 people for the area of the map you're looking at, and a label that indicates whether the cases are trending up or down," Sujoy Banerjee, Product Manager, Google Maps, said in a statement.

• Colour coding will also help people easily distinguish the density of new cases in an area.
• Trending case data is visible at the country level for all 220 countries and territories that Google Maps supports, along with state or province, county, and city-level data where available.
• More than one billion people turn to Google Maps for essential information about how to get from place to place – especially during the pandemic when safety concerns are top of mind.
  
  

"Features like popular times and live busyness, Covid-19 alerts in transit, and Covid checkpoints in driving navigation were all designed to help you stay safe when you're out and about," Banerjee said.

(Inputs from IANS)