During the Google I/O conference in May 2018, the Mountain View company presented us with a new feature coming to one of its flagship apps: augmented reality navigation in Google Maps. But no one had heard of it since. It’s being deployed now and is already available for some users. most wall street diary managed to test it.
Google Maps moves to augmented reality
According to media, an “augmented reality” button has been built into the app’s interface to activate the mode. GPS positions the user and the camera is activated to switch to a real-time view of the environment. Maps uses the information it collects to match Google Street View data with what appears on the screen. As we can see in the screenshot above, we end up with the lower part of the screen with the traditional map, practical but misleading, and the rest of the screen in itself with the surrounding views. To take the wrong path, you have to really want it now!
Also read: Google Maps: finding public transport just got easier
This new option is only available for pedestrians. For now, it seems that only users defined as “local directory” can use it. Google is still testing its new tool, which could work for anyone in a few weeks or months. A small augmented reality plus: if you are abroad, you can access real-time translation of panels or others. Between that and the new interface for Google Maps searches, we’re currently spoiled.
