The expected update to Google Maps has arrived: New Immersive View mode and more are ready!

Alongside a few useful features for cyclists and group travelers, Google introduced the new 3D Immersive viewing mode it promised in May.

What is Google Maps Immersive Mode?

First announced at the Google I/O 2022 developer conference, the immersive view mode will combine Street View, satellite and aerial imagery from Google Maps to create 3D recreations of landmarks. This first version of the feature is currently incomplete, but still supports over 100 locations in major cities, including London, San Francisco, and Tokyo.

This feature, which has been expected for some time, will go beyond traditional landmarks and be used to bring highlights such as restaurants to life to give potential tourists a better idea of ​​where they want to visit.

This new feature can be interpreted as a result of Google’s work to fight against applications such as TikTok and Instagram, which have become the most popular tools of young people who want to explore new places before Google’s services.

New features for cyclists

Also, Google Maps is trying to offer better navigation tools for cyclists. While Maps has long offered bike navigation, this update aims to make it more like car navigation and give cyclists more information about their route.

That is, cyclists will now be able to see if their route is affected by car traffic and whether the route includes bike lanes, how steep or windy a route is, and what types of roads they will use. Users can use this information to choose alternative routes. In some cases, Google Maps offers drivers more than one possible route except the fastest one, including one with more bike paths or fewer turns.

Location sharing has also been renewed

Google is also updating location sharing. In addition to sharing your location, you can now send notifications to a friend to let you know you’ve left a location and automatically send another location when you arrive at your destination. If you haven’t set a time limit when you start sharing your location, the app will try to better warn you that you left the feature turned on.