Google Maps can do so much more than you would think at first sight and we will show you today what else is possible.
Driving mode
shows your traffic for your current route, sights along your path, and estimated travel times to places that Maps believes you are likely based on your saved locations, your location history (assuming you turned it on) and the current day and time to places is going.
It also makes it easy to start navigation, in case you need extra guidance at some point in your adventure.
To activate Maps driving mode, open the app, tap the three-line icon in the top left corner (or just swipe in from the left side of the screen) and select “Start driving” in the panel that appears. If you want to add something extra, open the app settings (from the same side panel), tap “Notifications” and select “Navigation” and activate the “Notifications about car trip” button. This way you can see on the map how long it takes to reach your likely destination as soon as your phone connects to the Bluetooth system of a car.
And if you want to access driving mode even more easily, select “Widgets” on your home screen and scroll down to the Maps section and hold down the “Driving mode” widget to place it anywhere you want for activation with a push on the button.
Why swipe your music when you can do it directly from the main Maps interface? This option gives you the option to add audio buttons directly into the app, so you can shuffle your current played songs and within a prominently placed bar in the Navigation layout of Maps.
Open the app settings, select “Navigation settings” and activate the selector switch next to “Show media playback controls”. Then tap the line under the “Standard media app” label and choose the program of your choice.
Google Play Music, Spotify and Apple Music now seem to be the compatible options. Strangely enough, Google’s own music service Youtube is not yet supported, so you will have to wait a while.
Save location
Can you remember that good old tool called Car Locator? This app gave you the option to remember where you parked your car. This app has not been maintained for years, but fortunately Maps now has the same functionality.
Open Maps and press the blue dot that indicates your location. A large blue menu will appear in which you will see the “Save parking space” option. Press it and your current location will be recorded in Maps. If you want to save extra information you can press the white bar called “Parking location” at the bottom of the screen. For example, you can fill in which floor your car is on, add photos and a notification after a certain time.
If you want to return to your car, press the “parking location” button at the bottom of the Maps app or in the notification screen.
Sharing locations
Help someone find you – or maybe just update your whereabouts and progress – by tapping the same blue location point and, in the same blue menu, selecting “Share location.”
In this way you can give everyone a link to follow your location in real time on a map for a specific time or until you disable the function. From a few weeks ago you can even share the link with any app or service on your phone (such as a messaging application like Whatsapp) to share it with whoever you want.
Tap the white bar at the bottom of the screen, tap (the one that tells you how long you have to wait until you reach your destination) and then select “Share trip progress” in the menu that appears.
Locked orientation
Have you ever felt it would be easier to understand a map if the north were always pointing up? You can actually tell Maps to keep a consistent, locked orientation with the north at the top when you navigate: Open the settings and choose “Navigation Settings” and the option with the text “Hold the map with the north up” .
Permanent dark mode
In the same section “Navigation Settings” is a newly added option that anyone with sensitive eyes will like to see: the ability to set the color scheme of Maps in a permanent dark mode when navigation is active.
Maps manages this setting itself as standard and switches between a light and dark scheme at its own discretion. Then search for the “Color scheme” setting and switch from “Automatic” to “Night”.
A quieter voice
Do you sometimes get scared when you suddenly hear the Google Maps voice rumbling through your music during navigation? Fortunately, there is an easy solution for this: At the very top of the same “Navigation setting” of the app settings is an option called “volume guidance”. Try changing it to “lower” or “higher”.
Better suggestions for restaurants
Maps tries to guess where you want to eat based on your past behavior, but you can take control and help make the suggestions fit you better by searching for the “Explore Places” section within the settings of the app. Select “Preferences for food and drinks” and tell Maps what type of cuisine you do and do not want.
Voice commands
Maps has its own customized set of voice commands that work while you are navigating.
First check the Maps’ settings to make sure you can use the system: Tap the “Navigation settings” option and then “” Okay Google “detection” and confirm that the button next to “While driving” is active is. You probably also want to activate “Access via Voice Match” so that the commands work even when the screen is off.
If you say “OK Google” or “Hey Google” you can say these map-specific sentences, among other things:
- “What is the traffic like home?”
- “What time do I arrive?”
- “Which way is this?”
- “What is my next turn?”
- “Find a gas station”
- “Find a restaurant”
- “Take me to [naam winkel/restaurant]”
- “Navigate home”