Google is introducing a new mode for Google Maps: “High Speed View for Routes”. It represents your journey in three dimensions.
This is a new development announced for Google Maps, which was unveiled at the Google I/O 2023 conference. On stage, Sundar Pichai, the boss of the American company, gave an update on his mapping application and navigation. It’s called “Immersive Visualization for Routes” and involves adding 3D to represent your route in advance.
New 3D mode in Google Maps
This new feature will cover your different modes of transport: car of course, but also walking or cycling, to name three of the most common modes of travel. Accessing this option is easy: all you have to do is specify your starting point and where you arrived. Google Maps will calculate one or more routes. You are free to choose the one that suits you.
This is where you get access to a new action button called “Preview”. Maps then changes the map overlay to display a three-dimensional rendering of the subject. To make an easy-to-understand analogy, it’s like a map that becomes a city in Sim City. You can zoom and move the course.
Here are some screenshots of the app in action:
A 3D version of the map was already announced earlier this year, but it was only a static view, without the possibility of adding a dynamic view of its journey. This reconstruction of the environment was made possible by combining data from Street View, its virtual navigation tool, but also from photographs.
According to Google, you can report weather forecasts while you wait for the area to be displayed, but estimated traffic on the spot based on empirical data and company guidelines. These indicators should allow motorists to better manage their journey, to avoid traffic jams or bad weather – even if traffic has already been reported.
The Google Maps update is part of the US company’s attempt to regain its footing against rival Apple Maps, which has been doing very well in the US. We’ve seen Google roll out a new version of its app for cars with a modernized interface. Part of this is the arrival of a “Deep View for Routes” mode.
This 3D mode will start rolling out this summer. Fifteen cities, including London, Tokyo, New York and San Francisco, should be closed by the end of the year.
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