By Akriti Rana and Nimish Dubey
Google Maps is an indispensable tool for most of us. It comes preloaded on Android phones and is one of the first apps that many of us download even on our iPhones (Apple Maps is good…but not THAT good, well not in India anyway). However, many people utilize Google Maps for its most basic functions – to find out where a place is, how much time it will take to get to a place, and well, a few of us might even check traffic conditions on the app. While all this is definitely useful, there is a whole lot more that one can do on Google Maps. And the advent of AI has added even more knowledgeable wings to this already super handy app. So if you want to go beyond the navigation basics on your Google Maps, go right ahead and try out these lesser known – almost secret – but still amazing Google Maps features:
(A note of caution: some of these features might not be available on some devices or might not be available in a certain region).
Just ask where you can go…or even what you can do!
There was a time when using Google Maps depended on knowing where you wanted to go. But with the arrival of AI, the map app has gotten much smarter and now has a smart search option. So instead of searching for a specific place, you can actually type in or even speak out a query like ” where can I go to have some ice cream,” or “are there any historical monuments near me?” Google Maps will deliver results that almost always answer your query reasonaly, showing you relevant places, and in many cases, even the means to get there.
Find out more about your surroundings by just looking at them!
Imagine being in a new place and not knowing much about your surroundings. Well, you could ask someone for directions. Or maybe look at Google Maps and try to figure out nearby areas. Or you could try the new Lens in Maps feature. All you need to do is open Google Maps, and tap the camera icon in the Search box. This launches the Google Lens functionality and opens the camera within Google Maps. All you need to do is move your camera around and see interesting locations appear around you. And if you want to know about a particular building or landmark, just take a picture of it within the app and Google Maps will try to do so. It is sorcery and a blessing for those in a new place.
Get to your destination by seeing what your surroundings look like
For most of us, getting from one place to another on Google Maps is really about seeing a dot moving on the map. In some countries and towns, however, Google Maps can actually show you your surroundings as you proceed towards your destination. This happens through an AI-driven feature called Immersive View for Routes, which lets you preview literally every turn and twist of your path. Finding your way around becomes much more easy and interesting. The facility is available in a limited number of cities (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Las Vegas, London, Paris, Venice and a few others) at the time of writing, but more cities (including some in India, most likely Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai) are expected to be added soon.
Is my favourite cafe or bookstore crowded?
If you thought that the only traffic Google Maps monitored was on the road, think again. Google Maps can not only show the location of your favourite restaurant and the times at which they open and close, but in some cases, they even tell you if they are very crowded or relatively less so. And that applies not just to restaurants but to most monuments and places of interest. What’s more, you can even scroll down on the description of a place to find out the times at which it is most crowded, and when it is likely to be the most empty, allowing you to work out the best time to visit it.
Figure out the best time to leave to reach a place at a certain time
Google Maps can also be a great trip organiser if you know how to use it. For instance, if you need to arrive at a certain place by a certain time (whether for a meeting, a social occasion or just to see a film), all you have to do is enter the destination in Google Maps and then ask for directions. When Google Maps shows you the directions, simply opt for the option to set your time for arrival or departure. Google Maps will then suggest a time for you to leave or predict when you will arrive by using past traffic trends, and also suggest the best possible route for that time!
Use the time machine built inside Google Maps
It is a bit limited at the moment, but Google Maps actually has a time machine of sorts built into it, allowing you to see how locations looked in the past. Just how far back into the past you can go depends on the location you choose, but in most cases you can easily see images for up to a decade in the past and in some cases even as far back as 2007. All you have to do is select a place, tap on the Street View option, and then look for the See More Dates option on the base (in some cases, this involves shrinking the main Street View). It is a work in progress on mobile but is very handy, especially for those who like to find out how an area has changed over time. It is even more effective in the desktop version where you can tap on a clock icon to see how a place has changed over a much longer duration!
Find places to stop while going on a long drive
Hitting the road for a long drive? Google Maps can of course show you the fastest route to follow to reach your destination. But what if you also want to stop at places of interest along the way, and to also have meals and refreshments? Well, you can do all that on Google Maps. Just enter your destination and ask for directions. When the app shows you directions, choose the add stops option, and Google Maps will switch to tour guide mode and show you places of interest, cafes, grocery stores and more that are on or near your route. You can even search for specific things (say “old forts”) along your route, and Maps will try and find them for you. You can choose the places you would like to stop at during your drive, and Google Maps will work out a route that lets you stop at these locations. As we said, a proper tour operator!
Check the last Metro home
Want to know how late you can hang out with your friends? Well, you can simply use Google Maps to find out the time for the last local train or Metro home. Google Maps has excellent public transport information and this is especially effective in the case of Metro trains in India, which tend to follow a preset schedule. All you have to do is enter your point of departure and your destination and then choose “last” among the options that come up and you will be told when you can head to the station to grab the last train home. In a perfectly regulated world, it would work with buses too, but alas, these are a little erratic in India.
…And one more thing: never forget where you have parked your vehicle
Google Maps can be a great tool to remember where you have parked your bike or car. Park your vehicle, open Google Maps and tap the dot that shows your location on the map, and simply choose the Save Parking option, and Google Maps will have nicely saved your vehicle’s location and will direct you back to it when you need to find it later. Just remember that its accuracy suffers in basements!
