Is there a word more commonly used in modern language than “vibe”? People always talk about “emotions” (or upsetting feelings), so it makes sense that Google Maps would try to capture it in searches.
If you are visiting a new town, city or country, you may benefit from knowing the ‘ambience’ within the different neighbourhoods, if you are so inclined. What that means in real life is that a Google Maps update will display community/AI sourced hotspots in certain parts of the city.
Whether it’s great food, a strong art scene, or places of cultural and historical interest, you’ll be able to sample the ‘ambiance’ before you go, or as soon as you arrive.
In a blog post, Google wrote: “If you’re visiting a new neighborhood, it can be hard to know what’s worth exploring, what’s new, and what local gems are. Soon, with our new neighborhood feature, you’ll be able to pinpoint a neighborhood and see the most popular sites come alive. Live with photos and helpful information from the Google Maps community right on the map.
“Let’s say you’re on a trip to Paris – you can quickly tell if the neighborhood is artsy or has an exciting food scene so you can make an informed decision about how to spend your time.” The feature is arriving globally on the Google Maps app for iOS and Android in the coming months.
Elsewhere, Google says there are now 250 photorealistic aerial views of world landmarks available in Google Maps. The all-view feature launched at Google I/O this spring with a display of Big Ben on a typically rainy day.
Google also offered an update to its eco-friendly routing feature, which Google says has been used to travel 86 billion miles and thus save half a million metric tons of carbon emissions. It’s the equivalent of taking 100,000 cars off the road.
Finally, Google is launching an API for Live View that displays augmented reality walking directions over your world. It’s easy to use for navigating places like airports and train stations, and now Google is giving developers the opportunity to apply it to their own apps.