If you're using an Android device that was released in the last few years and you use Google Maps, you're in luck. Today, Google started releasing an update that adds traffic lights to maps. This isn't going to be live in all places around the world right out the gate - this is just the start - but it's a major step toward the hyper-accurate future of a fully mapped globe.
Google's spreading the Incognito Mode experience across more apps than just Chrome in the near future. Today's expansion is for the Google App (aka the Google Search app) for iOS devices. The Google App for your iPhone or iPad now has an Incognito mode via your profile picture. Just press that picture and hold it down for a little bit - it'll give you a fancy set of glasses and mysterious hat, just like a real incognito individual!
Google's enacted an auto-delete system in their Web & App Activity section of all user accounts. Google Account settings will include an "auto-delete" option by default. It'll be up to you to decide when Google deletes your user info - or if you'd like them to keep your info forever. But don't let that make you think you're good to go forever, automatically! It's not quite that simple.
iOS 14 is updating the Apple Maps and CarPlay experience, with Apple bringing the ability to use your iPhone as your car key, as well as to get new routing specific for EVs and cyclists. Announced at WWDC 2020 today, the new iOS 14 comes as Apple revamps its iPhone software to make it quicker and easier to navigate.
It may be hard for most people to get around these days but it has always been a gamble for less able people to go out. Although mandated by many laws across the world, accessibility for those with physical handicaps hasn't always been implemented properly and uniformly in places that should. Wheelchair access, for example, is still a hit or miss, which is why Google Maps is now rolling out its latest accessibility feature so that you can check if a location has wheelchair access even before you leave home.
Apple's own Maps app and service were once the laughing stock of the mobile market after it got users lost with incorrect locations and directions. That is, however, now just a distant memory and Apple Maps have become a formidable contender at least for those who live more in Apple's world. Now it has even taken the lead by finally allowing users to search for COVID-19 testing sites available in the US.
Today the folks at Apple released a mobility data trends tool to the public for free to aid in citizen care for COVID-19. Our current global pandemic requires that companies like Apple step forward and offer their tech power to assist the world in avoiding sickness and death. Mobility data revealed by Apple today is not attached to any specific user account, and is based instead on user requests for Apple Maps data for directions.
Google Maps has changed the way we navigate the world but its influence actually goes beyond just locating and navigating. A whole flood of new businesses, experiences, and mentalities have grown up around the ability to zoom and pan around more than just a digital version of a map. But, as the cliché goes, with great power comes great responsibility, and one "hack" showed just how easy it was to game Google's system and literally change the flow.
Although matters have been quieter on that front, Huawei remains barred from accessing many US products critical to its smartphone business. It hasn't stopped trying to look for key apps and services to replace its dependence on Google's popular software. The latest piece to be replaced is Google Maps which has now become the go-to service for location and navigation and the Chinese OEM has just closed a deal with Dutch mapping company TomTom exactly for that purpose.
It was once the butt of jokes but Apple has rebuilt its Maps app and service to mean serious business. In addition to offering a more integrated experience for its iOS and macOS users, Apple Maps bills itself as a more privacy-respecting service compared to Google Maps and Google-owned Waze. That, however, only makes sense if Apple Maps is able to offer nearly all the same features as the others. While it may still have a long way to go, this latest update takes it a few steps closer to that goal, at least for those in the US.
Google revealed many things at I/O 2019 last May but, as typical, not all of them have materialized just yet. Of course, those may still happen in due time, and it seems that Google is indeed taking its sweet time for others. It was still back in May when Google announced a privacy feature for Maps but it seems that it will still be quite a while before Google Maps' incognito mode rolls out to all.
Google Maps and, later, Waze have changed the way we navigate through roads and streets but another revolution also changed the way we travel. While it's not unusual for many to take multiple modes of transportation on a single trip, nowadays some people prefer to cover that last mile with less conventional means, like two-wheeled bicycles and the even more recent ridesharing system. Fortunately, Google Maps is now adapting to the latest trends and will inform users of such options when trying to find their way to their destination.