Changes again Google Maps. Before the end of 2019 is expected a new update of the interface that will end up transforming the navigator for good
Nth news for Google Maps that, once again in a very short time, changes face and changes interface. The update is not yet official, but several changes have already been intercepted on many apps around the world. This is the last (maybe) change of 2019, a year that for Maps has been one of revolution, rather than change.
Google, in fact, has boosted a lot this app knowing that it is one of the most used and appreciated by users. And just the users, in fact, would seem to be at the center of the new interface of Maps that is about to arrive. Also thanks to a community that remains very active: on the one hand the Local Guides, who insert new content to earn points and get bonuses, on the other hand the common users who, with the new interface, will have a more central role. By the end of the year, or at the latest at the beginning of 2020, all apps should be updated and, at that point, Google Maps will be a completely new and extremely powerful product.
Google Maps: what's changing
The first novelty of this umpteenth retouching of the interface and functionality of Google Maps is the disappearance of the column on the left, the one that opens by tapping on the main menu with the "hamburger" icon (the three horizontal lines). This icon disappears and, to access the menu we must tap on our profile photo.
In the lower part of the app, however, the three buttons "Explore", "Journey", and "For you" now become five: "Explore", "Journey", "Saved", "Contribute" and "News". The "Saved" button, as the name implies, gives us access to our previously saved places. "Contribute" takes us to our review tabs and the ability to add new places. "News," on the other hand, encapsulates previous recommended places, messages sent or received from businesses and, in the future, probably much more.
Google Maps: how it changes
These changes show Google's intent to make more use of the activities of Maps users who, now, are invited to help make the app richer with reviews and new places. The space given to messages between users and businesses, on the other hand, is almost a drift into the social world aimed at decreasing the distance between users and merchants. Previously, in fact, the user was more likely to communicate with businesses by tapping on the phone icon.
Google Maps: the other changes
In the past few weeks other news had arrived for Google Maps users. Such as the button to easily view maps in 3D or to switch to Street View, the dark mode on both Android and iOS, the ability to find charging points for electric cars and to pay from the app (both novelties still in the rollout phase). Finally, in the future, according to some rumors, information on the darkest and most dangerous streets could also arrive, so as to avoid them if we circulate on foot.