Crossing the 50 billion km mark & giving Google Maps for Android a fresh look

Wednesday, March 28, 2012 | 11:04 AM

(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog)

Every day, millions of people turn to Google Maps for Android for free, voice-guided GPS navigation to guide them to their destination. So far, Navigation on Google Maps for Android has provided 50 billion kilometers of turn-by-turn directions, the equivalent of 130,000 trips to the moon, 334 trips to the sun, 10 trips to Neptune or 0.005 light years! When getting to your destination matters most, Google Maps for Android will get you there:





A new look for Navigation on Android 4.0+ phones

In today’s release of Google Maps 6.5 for Android we’ve redesigned the Navigation home screen in Android 4.0+ to make it easier to enter a new destination or select from recent and favorite locations by swiping left or right.


Left: New Navigation home screen Right: Navigation in Google Maps for Android


Crisper, faster maps for high pixel density devices

If your device has a high pixel density screen, such as those on Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S II, Droid Razr and others, you’ll now get higher resolution map tiles that take better advantage of the pixels-per-inch on your screen. The result is a crisper, less cluttered map that is easier to read:


Left: Previous style Right:New style in Google Maps 6.5 for Android


Compare our new map on the right to the previous map on the left. The road network is easier to see, less obstructed by labels, and has more color contrast. At more zoomed-in levels, you’ll notice a more controlled amount of maps labels to avoid cluttering the map and blocking out street names. The new style also helps maps react faster to panning, zooming, and twisting.

You'll start seeing the new style as you navigate around new areas on the map; however, you can see these changes immediately by clearing your cache from the Maps settings.

Pick your preferred public transit mode and route option

Google Maps 6.5 for Android now lets you choose to prioritize a particular transit mode (such as the bus or subway) and route option (like taking the recommended route, one with fewer transfers or one with less walking). Whether you just need to get somewhere as fast as possible, or you want to avoid the risk of a missed connection or you prefer not to tire your legs, you can get the transit directions that best suit you. Transit directions and schedules are available for 475 cities around the world.




To start using Google Maps 6.5 for Android, download the update from Google Play. Learn more about how to use other great features of Google Maps for Android on the redesigned Google Maps YouTube channel that has 12 new videos available today.

18 comments:

ljflsakd said...

The update before this one removed the zoom (-/+) buttons from navigation view and I really miss them. Now there's no way to zoom out but stay in "driving view" (connected to the blue moving arrow representing you) but you can only zoom out and look at the map.
I really find the default zoom level while driving too far zoomed in, I prefer to see some more of what's ahead of me and that's broken now :-(

Unknown said...

Streetview in Maps still doesn't work in 6.5.0
This is the case for weeks now. Google please fix it!!!

Ali Hafeez Azmat said...

On my Froyo running Huawei Ideos U8150, Google Maps 6.4 and 6.5 keeps on crashing, the version earlier worked very well. This is an extremely useful app. Kindly guide how I can re-install the version earlier to 6.4. The moment I un-install the app, it reverts to version 4... await your guidance.
Thanks in advance

Kristian Erik Hermansen said...

You can pinch zoom instead or the google lab feature to add the zoom buttons back...

Gideon said...

I think Canada has something like 5 Android phones running os 4! Why not bring more phones that can handle then new software...

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Translation - Localization - SEO said...

The problem with mobile phone navigation is that sometimes the screen is far too small to view the maps properly, and it drains a lot of battery. However, with better technology, these issues will also go away in time.

I have to admit though that Google Maps for Android is the best mobile navigation app.

Talha
Language Connect: Translation Agency London

Unknown said...

Error message when attempting to update to 6.5 Freezes at "order processing"

Vincent said...

Maps 6.5 for android broke transit direction/navigation in montreal Canada : the directions now never use the subway, so it's basically useless.. :(

Nabeel said...

Great design dude. You have done great work. Keep it up..Web Design Sydney.

Nadia said...

Google maps was much better before the update. I can't see my friends at street level now. Please please put it back to how it was.

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Catatan elektronik said...

ada yang punya aplikasi untuk posting blog melalui handphone gak?

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purti agarwal said...

However, Google Maps for Android work well with some minor drawbacks, what appealed me most is the 8 bit Google Maps, launched on 1st April for NES. :D

Unknown said...

Always good to hear about functionality updates. The design looks good too!

Unknown said...

i really love this
its very cool...