What you need to know
- Google Maps receives three updates as we move into the holidays.
- Live View will roll out to London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Tokyo on Android and iOS beginning next week.
- Users can now find information on EV charging stations and tailor their search results through Maps to fit their car.
- Maps opens its "Accessible Places" feature to users globally to find information about wheelchair access at businesses.
With the holidays upon us, Google is bringing three updates to Maps that should help alleviate some of the stress when running around.
According to Google, Maps will receive three updates that should help whether you're checking out a new city, looking to stay on the road, or finding accessibility information on places you're visiting.
The first Google Maps update is focused on its recently revealed Live View. Just in time for the holidays, Google will be rolling out Live View to several new cities around the world, including London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Tokyo. Android and iOS users should begin seeing this option next week for the listed cities.
This Maps feature allows users to utilize their smartphone's camera as a lens for viewing the world. Google's AI offers information such as the highest-rated restaurant right before your eyes through augmented reality, and you can take advantage of the AR-powered directions on your screen to quickly find ATMs, banks, and other popular spots in a city.
Google Maps has been providing information on charging stations for consumers who have electric vehicles. This new update will improve this service by making it easier to find the perfect station for your car. Google explains that users will soon be able to search "EV charging stations" in Maps and select the "fast charge" filtering option.
This will provide users with information on 50kW charging stations or higher for a swifter charging cycle. An additional filtering option that's now been expanded to more countries lets users tailor the search to their car's specific plug type. These features are currently available on Android and iOS.
Google is also rolling out its "Accessible Places" feature globally for Android and iOS users. This feature brings information for users curious about wheelchair accessibility when visiting places.
Google Maps will display a wheelchair icon beside a business profile when you've turned on the Accessible Places option (Settings > Accessibility Settings) in the app. This will indicate that the particular places you're interested in have a wheelchair entrance, accessible parking, seating, and even restrooms. If not, the icon will have a strikethrough.
Users can also take the initiative to help others know that a place is wheelchair-safe by editing their profile through Maps. If a business does contain wheelchair access, but its Maps profile is devoid of it, users can hit About > Edit Features and then tap what features are available so everyone can know.
