maps

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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This week the folks at Google responsible for the newest magical features in Google Maps expand availability of Live View. This is an augmented reality feature that, until now, was only available for testing by Google insiders, Local Guides, and the Pixel community. Now they're pushing the feature to Android and iOS devices that support ARCore and ARKit.

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Google is doing some good for the world with a system called "SOS alerts" - in Google Maps and Google Search, primarily. With this system, they're making an effort to warn drivers about potential hazards on the road and nearby - in real time. This system will be live in Google Maps quite soon - and redirection will be here later this summer.

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Google just reinvented how we navigate our way around unfamiliar places. It’s called Google Maps AR and it’s solves all sorts of problems we currently experience when travelling with a GPS.

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A new interactive map aims to push an understanding of the near-future in climate change here in the United States. What once was difficult to comprehend for the average person can now be visualized with great ease. Not that you wouldn't be able to understand climate change otherwise - it's just a whole lot more visceral once you can visualize what it'll be like to live in your city in the near future with climate change in play.

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Today we're having a peek at the newly revealed and newly-public "most accurate" high resolution terrain map of Antarctica. This is REMA, or the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica. Straight from the folks at Ohio State University, this map is made by what its creators say is "applying fully automated, stereo auto-correlation techniques to overlapping pairs of high-resolution optical satellite images."

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Google Maps is one of those conveniences of modern life that many can't imagine life without. But more than just helping us not get lost, Maps also has one other somewhat controversial feature: location sharing. Now more than just knowing where your friends and family are, you will also be able to see how much battery they have left. You know, in case you need to swoop in to their rescue with a power bank.

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Google Maps is the navigation app of choice for many people, but it's not always the easiest to navigate. Given that Maps is used for driving, you need to be able to access your primary destinations quickly, and that's where quick access buttons come in. These buttons are overlaid directly onto the home screen and pull up directions with a single tap.

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