Google Maps gets a makeover, and new features to mark its 15th birthday

As Google Maps turns 15 today, the company decided to revamp the entire Google Maps app, including the icon, and upgraded a few more features for its users. This time around, the company is emphasising more on gathering data from the users themselves so that it can expand its local database.

As per a blogpost , the update has been made available for both iOS and Android users and now instead of three, you will five categories at the bottom of the Google Maps homepage. Earlier, we had “Explore”, “Commute” and “Updates” categories, now you also see “Saved” and “Contribute”. These two options were earlier listed in the “Menu” option on the side.

As per the company, the “Saved” category will show you all your saved places, reservations, upcoming trips, and more. You will also be able to share your recommendations of places that you visited, with others. “Contribute” category will let you give reviews and photos of places, share details of addresses, add missing business hours, or any useful information that you have about a particular place.

To recall, last year  Google Maps introduced a feature where it would inform users about the magnitude of crowdedness in a particular mode of public transport like a train or bus. Now, users will also be able to see the temperature, number of carriages available, women’s carriage, and security onboard so that you can plan your travel accordingly.

Last year, Google also announced a Live View feature in the Google Maps app. This feature used smartphone sensors, real-world imagery and machine learning to let users navigate easily. Now the company will expand this feature so that navigation becomes more easy and quick. Via this feature, you will soon be able to see how far away and in which direction a particular place is.