Google have been quite active on the Maps front lately, as after recently releasing a relatively major update for the service, which added various extra features and streamlined the experience, the company has just put out yet another update, bringing the Android version of the app up to 9.2 The update is available for download immediately, and users have already been discussing it online – and according to the general consensus, it’s a noticeable improvement, even though there aren’t actually any major changes included.
Among the new features, users can now control the voice level for the app’s navigation features, choosing from three presets. A new “Tilt” feature allows users to get an angled view of the map when in navigation mode, similar to what most traditional GPS devices do. On the other hand, the standard bird’s eye view is still available when using the app in its standard mode. Additionally, Maps can now detect if the app loses calibration, prompting the user to assist in recalibrating the device by making motions in a specific pattern.
Looking for a specific place is now also reportedly easier, with more active use of autocorrect in the suggestions. Users are presented with a notification message telling them that the app has changed something while typing, and reports claim that the suggestions themselves have been improved a bit.
Google are also known for occasionally including easter eggs in their applications, and Maps is no exception – users have been reporting a link for “Santa’s Village” in the navigation menu, which lets anyone track the progress of St. Nick on Christmas Eve. Google have been quiet about this particular feature, understandably, as they usually let users discover such jokes on their own, which tends to add to the hype about new updates quite nicely as well.
Users are advised to not skip the new update, as the various improvements it brings to the table can definitely be noticed in prolonged use of the app, particularly when it comes to intuitiveness. Users have been requesting for Google to take a more serious look at their automatic suggestions for quite a while now, and while there have been improvements in this area before, the 9.2 update is the most notable one so far, and a definite move in the right direction.
The update has already been released for all owners of the official app on the Play Store, so if Android doesn’t download it automatically, users can just head over to the Play Store and grab it manually. It’s not a very large update, and it doesn’t seem to come with any heavy new content, although it’s still advised to download it over Wi-Fi.