Google Maps “Vibe Check” now your destination for you

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Google Maps "Vibe Check" now your destination for you

Two screenshots of the new features on Google Maps

Google Maps hopes you’ll use it to get a mood for where you’re going.
picture: Google

While Amazon held its Celebration device Showcase Today Google announced several new ones search functions, including security updates. Read how Google helps you remove sensitive information from its search engine here. But if you’re curious about some of the new, more UI-centric features for your smartphone, read on.

Google Maps is about to receive a major update that the company hopes will inspire you to continue using it to plan your adventures. When you’re driving to a new part of town, a feature called Neighborhood Vibe helps you get a “vibe” of where you’re going by popping up user reviews as you pan around. “To determine the vibe of a neighborhood, we combine AI with local knowledge from Google Maps users, who add more than 20 million posts to the map every day,” Google writes in its announcement blog.

Because if there’s anyone I trust to know what’s going on where I live, there are a few Crowdsourced Internet Randos.

This feature is rolling out globally for both Android and iOS in the coming months, although you can currently see some of its traces. Tap the Discover button when you’re in an area on Google Maps and displays the latest Local Guide reviews.

A screenshot of the photorealistic aerial view of Oracle Park in San Francisco.

The photorealistic aerial view of Oracle Park in San Francisco.
screenshot: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Google is also finally pushing the immersive view of Google Maps, which it is bullied early this summer. Instead of having to drag and pan through a 2D Street View to see what’s nearby, you can explore photorealistic 3D aerial renditions of famous landmarks around the world and see things like: For example, where to enter a venue and where to park nearby.

Admittedly, this is an effective way to get a “vibe check” of how the sights look in person and what surrounds them. But it also competes with a feature added to Apple Maps last year.

Google Maps immersive view will roll out in select locations including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and London over the coming months. But starting today, you can update Google Maps on your smartphone to preview one of 250 static aerial photos created in immersive mode. These views aren’t everything you can do in the feature, but it’s a cool preview of what’s to come.

I updated Google Maps and was able to check out the view of Oracle Park in San Francisco where the San Francisco Giants play. Aerial photography is currently limited to panning video and not something you can interact with. When the full immersive viewing experience finally comes out this year, you’ll be able to interact with the three-dimensional realm.

Finally, you’ll soon be able to use search with Live View. Like the ability to get walking directions with augmented reality, Live View Search highlights things you might be exploring, like restaurants and ATMs – much like it would highlight those locations on a flat map. The ability will initially be available in San Francisco, New York, London, Paris and Tokyo.

Upcoming visual search improvements

Earlier this year, Google announced Multi-Search in Lens, a feature that lets you look up things with images and Text. At its Search On event, Google informed us about the feature; it will be available in over 70 languages ​​over the next few months. “Multiple Search” capability for nearest location will also be rolled out in English later this year in the US.

Search shortcuts are also now slowly rolling out for iOS users to help you get the most out of Google. Starting today on iOS, update yours Google search app to see if the new search shortcuts have already rolled out for you. The shortcuts should appear below the search bar in the iOS Google app. They offer suggestions for using Google, e.g. B. translating text with the camera. I still can’t preview this feature on my iPhone 14 Pro Max with iOS 16.1 Beta, even though I’ve updated the app.

Most of Google’s search announcements today weren’t total surprises, considering the company teased most of what it’s working on at Google I/O earlier this year. At least we know when to expect these new search features to appear on our smartphones.

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