Google Maps will let you draw missing roads and be a good Samaritan

Google Maps has lately become a community-driven platform where contributions from users themselves have made the experience a lot more useful. For example, finding reviews, inputs, real-life images as well as incident reporting have all made it way more than just a mapping and navigation platform. And soon, Google Maps will let you be an architect of roads – without a degree in architecture – by letting you draw new and missing roads on it.

Of course, Google will verify your road scribbling adventures before they go live for others

Actually, Google Maps will let you do more than that. Aside from drawing new roads on Google Maps, you can also add those that are missing from the map view, rename them if the service has not yet updated the new moniker of a road(s), and even delete those that no longer exist. And in case a road has been closed, users will be able to contribute details such as when and why the closure happened, and alternative directions to a spot that avoids such closed roads.

Google Maps app adds payment tool for parking and public transit fares

Of course, your entries will be assessed and verified by the company before the changes start appearing for others on Google Maps. The company says that the ability to tweak road information on Google Maps will start appearing to users in more than 80 countries over the coming months. All you have to do is click on the side menu button, tap on the “Edit the map” option and select the “Missing road” option to be a good samaritan. But do keep in mind that this facility is available only on the desktop version.

Google Maps is also getting a useful updates tool

google maps recent updates

Google Maps is getting another useful tool that will let you add photos of a place without having to go full ‘local guide’ and adding reviews and other information to the community-sourced database. When you look up a place on Google Maps and go to the “Updates” section, you will now see a new ‘Add a photo update’ button that will let you contribute photos. And if you feel like it, you can also add a few words to describe the place. This “updates” section is also where you can find the latest photos of a place, giving a good idea about how it has been lately,

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Google rolls out dark mode for Maps, games for Android Auto

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Google published a blog post today where it announced six new features that are coming to Android soon. It is rolling out schedule send using which you can compose a message ahead of time when it’s convenient for you, and schedule it to send at the right moment. The company has also announced a new theme for its Maps app. Google Maps is now getting a full-fledged dark mode on Android. The feature has been in testing since September 2020.

Google is rolling out dark mode for its Maps app on Android. It takes the previously available night mode color option a notch ahead. The new feature will be accessible in the app’s settings menu, under “theme.” To enable the feature, you need to head to your Settings, tap on Theme, and then on Always in Dark Theme to lower the lights when you’re navigating, exploring, or getting things done with Maps.

Google is also rolling out new features to Android Auto. The app is getting custom wallpapers using which you can now select from a variety of car-inspired backgrounds to personalize your car display. It is also bringing games to Android Auto. For longer drives, you and your passengers can stay entertained with voice-activated games like trivia and “Jeopardy!”. Just say, “Hey Google, play a game” to get started. 

Android Auto is also getting Shortcuts on the launch screen. These will provide convenient access to your contacts and allow you to use Assistant to complete tasks like checking the weather or remotely adjusting the thermostat by simply tapping on the icon on your car display. For cars with wider screens, you can do more with a split-screen that features a real-time view of Google Maps and media controls. There is also a privacy screen to control when Android Auto appears on your car display. 

Source

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Google Maps app adds payment tool for parking and public transit fares

It goes without saying that Google Maps is a pretty handy tool, and now, the mobile app is getting even more useful. The company is adding a Google Pay integration in the Google Maps app that will allow users to pay for parking tickets and public transport fares in a jiffy, without having to switch between the navigation and payment apps.

The ability to pay for parking tickets goes live today across 400+ cities in the US on Android

Google has partnered with parking solution service providers Passport and ParkMobile to let users pay for parking even before reaching the designated spot. All you have to do is tap on the “Pay for Parking” button as you draw closer to your destination. Once the prompt appears, all you have to do is enter details such as the amount of time you want your vehicle parked and the meter number for verification.

READ MORE: Live View in Google Maps now tells you about nearby landmarks, improves location pinning

Additionally, you will also be able to add extra hours of parking time if the need arises, using the same Google Pay integration in the navigation app. The ability to pay for parking tickets goes live today across 400+ cities in the US on Android, and will soon make its way to the iOS app as well.

Google Maps will let you pay for transit in 80 locations locally in the coming weeks

Aside from paying for parking space, Google Maps is also expanding the ability to pay for public transportation fares by collaborating with more than 80 agencies worldwide. While planning their trip, Google Maps will allow users to pay in advance and also get information about the supported payment options at their destination. The ability to pay for transit tickets will go live internationally within the next few weeks on Android.

“When you get transit directions, you’ll see the option to pay with your phone with the credit or debit cards already linked to your Google Pay account,” the company added in its official blog post. And if you happen to live in a select few locations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, the Google Maps app will also allow you to buy a digital Clipper card and pay for it, and get it verified by tapping your phone on the reader.

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Google will turn some offices into vaccination sites while Maps will help find one

In a bid to lend support to the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Google has today announced that it will open some of its buildings, open spaces, and parking lots to be used as vaccination sites. The company is joining hands with health care provider One Medical and public health authorities for turning some of its sites into vaccination spots, starting with Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area in California, Kirkland in Washington and New York City, with plans of expanding the initiative to a national scale. 

Google is pledging $150 million towards vaccine education and equitable distribution

Google CEO Satya Nadella mentioned in a blog post that the company is setting aside an amount of $150 million that will go towards promoting vaccine education and ensuring equitable distribution. “Today, we’re announcing an additional $100 million in ad grants for the CDC Foundation, the World Health Organization, and nonprofits around the globe. We’ll invest another $50 million in partnership with public health agencies to reach underserved communities with vaccine-related content and information,” Nadella wrote.

Google Maps and Search will help with the vaccination drive

The search giant has also announced that in the coming weeks, Google Maps will show COVID-19 vaccination locations, and the same will be available via Search as well. Vaccination spots will first start appearing on Google Maps for Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, with additional states set to join the list soon. Following is an image that shows how vital information about COVID-19 vaccination will be accessible on Search as well as Google Maps: 

Image: Google

Users will also get information such as the requirement for an appointment prior to getting vaccinated, if they qualify to be in the group that is eligible for vaccination in that phase, and more. Furthermore, the company plans to launch a “Get The Facts” initiative that will help users get access to authoritative information from reliable sources about vaccination across its Search platform as well as YouTube. 

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Google Search, Lens, and Maps get new features to make your pandemic life easier

Google’s Search On live event was quite a busy one. The company introduced a slew of cool new features such as ‘hum to search’ for discovering songs and meaningful upgrades for Google Lens, Search, and Maps. A majority of the features announced by Google somehow touch upon the aspects of life that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and sound really helpful. So, let’s quickly recap the most important ones:

Google Maps will keep you safe and prepared

The ‘busyness’ feature on Google Maps shows how busy a place is at a given time or day of the week, helping users accordingly plan their visit to avoid crowded space, something that is of vital importance in the battle against a deadly pandemic. Google says it will increase the coverage of live busyness information to more areas such as beaches, pharmacies, and grocery stores among others, while also expanding its reach by five times.

Plus, busyness information will now be shown directly on Google Maps without even searching for a place, and while on the move as well. This feature will soon be available on Android, iOS, and desktop. In addition to real-time busyness information, users can also see a graph of how busy a place usually is over the course of a week.

Additionally, Google Maps will also show information about the health and safety precautions that are undertaken at a restaurant or shop. This information is contributed by businesses listed on Google Maps, but users will soon be able to add their personal experiences as well.

Lastly, users across the world will soon be able to use the Live View augmented reality feature to find more information about a place, such as when it opens, the busyness status, its star rating, and the safety measures it has put in place. All you have to do is just open Live View, point to a shop or building, and tap on the icon above it.

A smarter search experience

Google has announced that BERT language understanding is now used to process all search queries made in the English language. Plus, Google search now relies on a new spelling algorithm that can detect grammar and spelling errors more efficiently. As a result, it can find the right search results users are looking for.

Google search is also making it easier for users to find answers to questions that require some explanation. To do so, Google search now indexes individual passages on a webpage too, in addition to the webpage itself. Doing so will make it easier for the search algorithms to understand the relevancy of each passage and accordingly bring up results that can answer users’ queries.

Google has also started testing a new technology that will help users quickly find a particular moment or segment in a video they are looking for. AI algorithms will automatically recognize key moments in a video and will accordingly tag them, somewhat like chapters in YouTube videos. For example, a baseball match video will be labeled with time markers for moments such as home run and strikeout.

Google Lens is now even better

Google Lens is already capable of doing a lot of cool things such as recognizing objects, extracting text from photos, identifying codes, and a lot more. It is now getting even better, especially when it comes to education. Google Lens can now identify mathematics or science problems, and will accordingly show step-by-step solutions and guides to help students. This capability can be accessed from the Google app’s search bar on Android and iOS.

Another cool trick that is coming to Google Lens is an easier shopping experience, thanks to Style Engine technology. Now, when users long-press on an image while viewing it in the Google app or Chrome browser on Android (coming soon to the Google app on iOS too), Google Lens will show matching items listed on e-commerce platforms so that users can easily find more information or purchase them.

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Live View in Google Maps now tells you about nearby landmarks, improves location pinning

The Live View feature in Google Maps shows you an augmented reality view of your surroundings so that you can easily find where the map is guiding you, be it roads, buildings, parks, or any other identifiable structure. After all, it actually provides a more realistic navigation experience by letting you visualize your destination in the real world topped off with an AR overlay of direction cues. Today, Google has announced a few updates for the Live View experience in Google Maps that will make it even more useful. The first one of those additions is nearby landmark guidance.

Landmarks Live View
Nearby location guidance

As the name suggests, Live View will show you nearby landmarks to help you get a better idea of your position and surroundings. It will show you how far away a landmark is, and will also provide the directions in case you want to visit it, all in a real-world view caught with your phone’s camera. The landmarks can be anything ranging from historical monuments and famous buildings to public parks and tourist spots. It is currently live for 25 cities across the world, and more will be added soon. You can check the full list of compatible cities here.

Live View Transit

And if you are on your way to some other place that involves both walking and getting on board a bus or any other vehicle, you can launch the Live View straight from the transit tab. When you reach a point in your journey where you need to walk, Live View will guide you with a real-world view navigation experience. Needless to say, this will be extremely helpful for multi-modal navigation. 

Live View Location Sharing

Google has also announced that Live View in Location Sharing, which is currently exclusive to Pixel smartphones since its debut last month, will soon be expanded to more Android and iOS smartphones. What this means is you can now reach your friends by getting navigation info via Live View, and not a flat map.

terrain anchors
Improved location pinning

Lastly, Google says that it has also improved the location pinning experience on Live View. Now, instead of the pin hovering high above the ground and confusing users, location pins will now be much closer to the ground to give them a better idea of where actually a road or building is located. This will help them more easily spot the location of a pinned spot or landmark in Live View. Google says that Live View in the transit tab and Location Sharing on non-Pixel devices will arrive in the coming weeks on Android and iOS. 

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Google Maps adds a COVID layer feature to tell if an area is safe for traveling

As people all around the world struggle with a global health pandemic, Google Maps has made a few improvements lately to help users adjust to this new normal and find helpful information. Recently, Google Maps introduced alerts from local transit agencies about travel restrictions, eligibility rules and guidelines for visiting a testing facility, and crowdedness predictions for public transit stations. Now, Google Maps is adding another useful tool in the form of a feature called COVID layer that will help users identify if an area is safe enough to travel depending on the severity of virus outbreak. 

When you open Google Maps, tap on the circular layers icon in the top-right corner and select the “COVID-19 info” option from the tray. Once you do that, Google Maps will show a seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in each area. Additionally, an arrow graph or tag (“decreasing” or “increasing”) will show if the number of cases has gone up or reduced in each area. And to make it even easier, Google Maps will color-code each area to better explain how badly an area has been affected, with a darker shade of red representing a dangerously high pace of virus outbreak. The new Google Maps feature has already started to roll out on both Android and iOS platforms. 

COVID layer is based on data from authoritative sources

Google says that the COVID-19 trend data is available on a city-level basis for all 220 countries where the service is accessible. Talking about COVID-19 infection rate data, Google says it uses information from authoritative sources such as Johns Hopkins, the New York Times and Wikipedia, which in turn get their data from the World Health Organization (WHO), government health ministries, as well as state and local health agencies and hospitals. Google says that the dataset used for creating Google Maps’ COVID-19 layer feature is the same one that brings up useful information in search.

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You can now get Google Maps on your Apple Watch, Apple One confirmed

The wait is over. The Google Maps app is now, once again, available for download in the Apple Watch. This app was removed back in 2017 from the App Store, but now it is officially up for grabs after the latest update. And it seems that software updates have also confirmed the name of the subscription bundle that Apple wants to offer.

The new Google Maps app is now available for Apple Watch users. This new Apple Watch version is mainly focused on providing users with step-by-step directions and estimated arrival times. The apps main screen will display the user’s “Current trip,” and it will also show a list of “Travel times” below that.

Unfortunately, users won’t be able to input new locations from their Apple Watch, as they will still have to use their phone’s Maps app to add new locations. The app will allow users to navigate by car, bike, public transport, or travel, and that you can choose directly from the Apple Watch in the “Set travel mode” option.

Now, the Apple Music code for Android devices has revealed the new Apple One subscription service bundle. This service is expected to launch in the near future, and it seems that users who upgrade won’t be double charged for Apple music. This new subscription would also be managed on the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac.

It is also believed that Apple may be working on several Apple One bundle tiers. The basic service would include Apple Music and Apple TV+, while other tiers would include Apple Arcade, and the third tier would also include Apple News+. We may also see options with iCloud storage, a new fitness-oriented service with virtual classes, and more. These bundles would help customers save from $2 to $5 depending on the services they need.

Source 9to5Google (1)

Source 9to5Google (2)

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Google Maps will now show real-time boundaries of a wildfire

Google is adding a new feature to its eponymous mapping service that will show the real-time impact of a wildfire through a dynamic wildfire boundary. Google is relying on satellite imagery to create a wildfire boundary map, helping people know where the calamity is underway, how to avoid it, and also find useful resources to keep themselves and others safe.

The real-time wildfire boundary map will appear in Search and Maps SOS alerts, but only in the US for now. When people search for relevant keywords such as “wildfire in Colorado” or “California fire”, they’ll see the real-time wildfire map, name and location of the affected area, and resources from local emergency agencies.

GOES Apple Fire Time Lapse.gif
Satellite imagery of the recent Apple Fire in California

Additionally, Google Maps will tell users if they’re getting close to an active blaze area. And in case there are multiple wildfires in a region, users will see multiple polygons depicting each one’s size and location on Google Maps, accompanied by an SOS alert. Here’s how the new Google Maps feature comes to life on mobile devices:

Wildfire_Mobile.gif

Source: Google Blog

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Pocketnow Daily: iPhone Sales to FALL if WeChat is Banned? (video)

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, Apple’s 27-inch iMac and more devices, on sale today

Deals. Let’s start today with the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which is currently available for $171 off on Amazon, leaving it at $1228 shipped with the US warranty. The 2019 27in iMac is also up to $250 off, meaning you can find the 6-core Intel i5, 8GB of RAM and 1TB of storage variant for $1700 shipped. If you’re interested in the HomePod… for some reason… Best Buy also has it for $100 off, leaving it at $199. We also have more deals on Sennheiser headphones, Jabra Earbuds and more.

Qualcomm reportedly seeks US government’s permission to sell chips to HUAWEI

Last week we talked about how the Mate 40 Series might be the last Huawei phone powered by a Kirin processor and, if you watch that video I speculated about them turning to Qualcomm for SoCs and well…. According to the Wall Street Journal, Qualcomm made a presentation for the US government, to remove restrictions and let them sell Snapdragon chips to Huawei. They’re pitching it by saying how this ban could drive “billions of dollars” to foreign chip makers like Samsung and MediaTek and lifting this ban could help Qualcomm stay competitive. Qualcomm’s goal right now is to sell to every smartphone maker and if a shift in the 5G market share changed, this could be big for them.

We have new leaked renders of the upcoming Microsoft Surface Duo

I think it’s been 10 or 11 months since we’ve been waiting for the Surface Duo… Yeah. Well last week it went through certifications and it looked like we were getting closer to a launch date but, we still don’t have it. Now we have some new leaked renders from Evan Blass showing off the AT&T variant of this device. On these pictures we can see the phone both open and closed, showing off the interface. We also get to see the selfie camera and the pretty big bezels and,  it looks like there’s still no main camera on the outside. There’s also that leaked video which surfaced months ago showing how you can interact with the phone without it being fully open. We’re still expecting this device to launch… sometime soon with the same dated specs.

First public beta for watchOS7 is available for beta testers

You will soon find Google Maps in your Apple Watch

After several developer betas, Apple just seeded the first Public Beta of WatchOS 7 to consumers. The update can be installed pretty much like an iOS beta by downloading the profile and since this is the first release, it might bring some serious bugs. It brings new features like sleep tracking, complications, and more. Speaking of new features, Google just announced several of them for Apple products that are independent of the beta. For example, now you get a fully working Google Maps app for the Apple Watch that works pretty similar to the iPhone app, letting you get walking, biking, public transit and car directions from your wrist. Some destinations need the iPhone to be able to work properly but, it also supports step-by-step and it gives you an ETA. Moving on to CarPlay, there’s a new Dashboard integration for the media app now, the calendar and turn-by-turn directions as well but it is now presented in a split-screen view.

Twitter purportedly expresses interest in acquiring TikTok US operations

TikTok is reportedly suing Trump administration over executive order threatening a ban

Let’s talk about Tik Tok because, it’s actually a pretty big deal right now. If you haven’t been following, the US President basically told them that they had 45 days to sell the US arm of Tik Tok to a US company or they would be banned in the States. Well, since them we’ve seen Microsoft interested in buying and now, it looks like Twitter wants in too. According to Reuters, Microsoft is still the front runner but, Twitter has apparently approached ByteDance to make the acquisition. The problem is that Twitter is worth around $30B which is almost the value of the Tik Tok assets being purchased here so, they would need to raise additional capital to make this deal happen. However, it looks like ByteDance doesn’t want to stay quiet, they will reportedly be filing a federal lawsuit in Southern California for the President’s “far-reaching action which is unconstitutional, based on pure speculation.” We’ll keep you posted to see what ends up happening here but, in the meantime Facebook already launched a copy cat with Instagram Reels because… it’s Facebook.

Story of the day:

iPhone shipments could decline by up to 30% if Apple axes WeChat from App Store: Kuo

And finally, speaking of bans since it seems to be the major topic of discussion today, it looks like Apple will be affected by another ban too. There was recently an executive order, kind of like the one with Tik Tok, to end US transactions with WeChat and Tencent. And by the way, WeChat is like all our social media, chat and payment services baked in one, so for China it’s pretty much everything. Well, according to a new report from Ming Chi Kuo, Apple could suffer a lot from this as WeChat currently has 1.2B monthly users and banning it globally from the App Store would be catastrophic . He laid out different scenarios as to how this might affect iPhone sales, in the best case, shipments would be affected by 3%-6% but, in the worst-case scenario, iPhone shipments globally would decline by 25-30% and this also translates to other products like the Apple Watch, AirPods and even Macs. Kuo is even recommending that investors should reduce their stock holdings of companies in Apple’s Supply Chain due to the risks this WeChat ban. The order will apparently happen on September 20th so, let’s see what happens. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/pocketnowsub http://pocketnow.com Follow us: http://flipboard.com/@Pocketnow http://facebook.com/pocketnow http://twitter.com/pocketnow http://google.com/+pocketnow

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Google Maps adds new features to prepare you for life in the pandemic era

Google Maps has introduced a host of new features that will help people commuting in a time when restrictions and disruptions are commonplace, and providing them the necessary information in advance might be extremely useful. To start things, users will now see alerts from local transit agencies about restrictions, if any, on the route they are looking to take.

crowdedness-10.43.gif
Users can check crowdedness data and also contribute their experience too.

They will also see alerts on the directions screen while driving, informing them about checkpoints and other restrictions that they are expected to respect. Additionally, Google Maps will remind users to go through the eligibility rules and facility guidelines when they are navigating a coronavirus testing center or a medical facility.

busyness-10.43.gif
One can now see how crowded a station is at any particular time

Moreover, it is now easier for public transport users to check how crowded a boarding spot or station can be, based on data contributed by other Google Maps users. The crowdedness predictions will be available under the Transit Details section when users look up for Directions. Also, one can now check when a transit station is more or less crowded at a particular time.

Source: Google Blog

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Google Maps introduces Plus Codes to make location sharing easier

According to Google, more than 2 billion people on the planet—about 25 percent of us or more —either don’t have an address or have an address that isn’t easy to locate. We take these strings of numbers and words for granted.

To tackle this, the company launched ‘Plus Codes’ in 2015. These are essentially digital addresses derived from latitude and longitude coordinates, which can be used to identify any location. It is now being integrated to Google Maps for Android. Plus Codes will come in handy when you don’t know the exact address (i.e. street name, lane, etc) or when your current location does not appear with a name on Google Maps.

You need to simply tap the blue dot on the map that represents your current location to create a Plus Code. It will bring you to a screen that shows the six-digit Plus Code along with some other useful info and options.. You can then copy the code and share it with others.

Source: Google

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