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By now, you've probably received the invitation to try the new Google Maps. It's not available without an invitation and it's likely that it won't replace the classic Google Maps very soon.


The new interface is the most radical change to Google Maps since 2005, when Google's online mapping service was launched. Here's Google Maps in 2005 (screenshot from this page):


Depending on your computer and the browser you're using, you may not see the Google Earth view and other 3D features. WebGL features require Windows Vista/7/8, Mac OS 10.8.3+, Chrome OS, the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox and up-to-date graphics drivers. This page explains what's the lite mode and provides links for the lite mode and the full 3D mode.

Probably the most impressive feature in the new interface is the Google Earth integration that doesn't require a plugin. It looks great, even if it doesn't includes all the features of the desktop software. Earth view replaces the old satellite view, which is only available in the lite mode.

If you want to find "how Google Maps went from a flat map where Greenland looks bigger than Africa to a beautifully realistic 3D globe", Evan Parker from Google shares the story. From the Google Earth plugin to MapsGL and the new Earth view, it took almost 7 years to make Google Earth work smoothly in your browser.


Another impressive feature is the "Explore" box at the bottom of the page that combines Street View, panoramas and static photos. It's the best way to find interesting places and explore them from your armchair. Unfortunately, Street View keyboard shortcuts don't work well.


Standard maps look better, colors are softer, labels are easier to read. Google Maps finally has permalinks that automatically update in the address bar, so it's easier to share pages and bookmark them (permalinks only work in the new Google Maps, but you can also use the URLs generated by the old Google Maps).

You can no longer find a contextual menu when you right-click, so features like "directions to/from here", "zoom in/out", "center map here" are missing. Now you can click any place on the map and you'll get a small info pane below the search box that shows the address and lets you get directions and go to Street View. Double click to zoom in, use the mouse wheel or the "+"/"-" buttons.

The new Google Maps simplified navigation and removed many useful features like the zoom level bar, panning, "show my location" and the Street View Pegman. Layers like Wikipedia, weather, webcams, photos, videos, previous searches are no longer available, while transit, traffic and bicycling can be found in the "getting around" box.


"My Places" is not part of the new Google Maps interface. Click the "options" icon in the black navigation bar, select "My Places" and you'll go back to the old interface. It's a trick that lets you temporarily switch to the old interface. You can also click "classic maps".

The new full-screen interface places all the navigation controls on top of the map and invites you to explore the map. To get directions, mouse over the search box and click "directions". To find a place, use the search box. The transitions are smooth and Google Maps uses a simplified version of Google Instant: you're automatically sent to the place you've selected without having to press Enter. You can even find your contacts on the map.

You can restrict the results to places from top reviewers or your Google+ circles. Google emphasizes the reviews from your Google+ circles, so search results are personalized. Results are placed on the map and this is disconcerting: you don't know which one to click. Mouse over the results to get some information, click them to get even more information. It's a strange way to display search results, since you don't know which one is better. Google used to rank the results and ranking was an important component of local search. You can click "go to list of top results", but you're sent to a different page that includes other results and the list isn't comprehensive.


I don't like the new interface for directions because the step-by-step directions are no longer displayed automatically. You need to click "step-by-step" and you're sent to a different page. Switching between the suggested routes is more intuitive because all of them are displayed on them map and you can compare them. Google also includes transit directions, which have a simplified interface that summarizes information. There's also a new button for flight search, but it's limited to a few countries (United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands). Printing directions requires an additional click and you can no longer hide the map or include maps for all steps.


The new Google Maps requires a lot more resources, especially more RAM, so it's not a great idea to use it if you have an old computer. Earth View and Street View use a lot of memory, so don't be surprised if you see this:


The new Google Maps builds on the MapGL experiment, does away with plugins and has a cleaner interface that's better suited for mobile devices. Unfortunately, it's a memory hog and basic features like local search and directions are cumbersome. It's still a work in progress.

Until Google sends invites that let you preview the new Google Maps interface, check the MoreThanAMap site to see the new maps. It's a site that shows demos for various Google Maps API features, but the "base maps" demos are the most interesting because you can see the new map tiles.

"For the last decade, we've obsessed over building great maps—maps that are comprehensive, accurate, and easy to use," says Google.


You can also check the new colors, the new icons for local business and the corresponding cards.


The new Street View powered by WebGL:


Old vs new:


{ Thanks, Florian K. }

As anticipated, Google announced a new Google Maps interface for the desktop. It's not publicly available, but you can get an invite here.

The new Google Maps has three goals: creating personalized maps, making maps immersive and building the interface around maps. Just like Google Chrome removed unnecessary interface elements, Google developed a completely new Google Maps service without sidebars, buttons, search results boxes. It's a simplified experience that focuses on the maps.


"The entire map is now interactive. Clicking anywhere will focus the map on that location and show you helpful things, like related places and the best ways to get there."



Directions are easier to use because they integrate flight search and they compare multiple modes on transportation, so you can find the best one. Search results are directly placed on the map: icons and brief descriptions help you determine if they're useful.

Google Maps highlights the places that are important to you and it shows recommendations from experts and your Google+ circles. This way, you get a customized map that emphasizes the things that are relevant to you.

The new interface is powered by WebGL and it brings the Google Earth imagery to the browser without having to use plugins. Google has a different way to show some of the map layers like photos and satellite view, while other layers are missing.



Google will also update the mobile Google Maps apps for Android and iOS this summer and you'll finally get Google Maps for iPad.

The new Google Maps interface is not yet available, but you can try an application that has a lot of things in common with the new Google Maps. It's called Maps Engine Lite and it will probably replace the My Maps feature.


Full-screen map, interface elements overlaid on top of the map, the same search box and zoom buttons. It's consistent with the new Google Maps interface.

"We're launching Google Maps Engine Lite (Beta), so any mapping enthusiast can now create and share robust custom maps using this powerful, easy-to-use tool. You can import small spreadsheets of locations onto a comprehensive map, visualize those places through a variety of styling and drawing options, and organize and compare up to three different data sets for your non-business purposes," informed Google back in March.

Here's a diagram from a Google Maps support page that shows the current interface:


And here's a similar diagram for the new Google Maps:


The new interface is a lot cleaner and there are fewer features, but it's not clear how many features are missing.

When you search for an address using Google, you'll usually see a Google Maps result with a static map and links for directions. If your address is very specific and includes a street number, Google will also show a Street View thumbnail that lets you quickly access Google's panoramic street-level imagery.

For example, a search for [1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View] shows the Street View image, but a search for [Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View] doesn't. Sometimes you need to include the zip code: [1 infinite loop cupertino ca 95014] works, but [1 infinite loop cupertino ca] doesn't.


{ Thanks, Jérôme. }

Update: Preview the new Google Maps.

Google is about to launch a new interface for Google Maps. The update will remove the sidebar and will display everything on top of the full-screen map. One of the new features lets you restrict local search results to places recommended by top reviews or your Google+ circles.



It's a more immersive interface that will probably work well on mobile devices. Instead of focusing on navigational elements, buttons and sidebars, the new Google Maps focuses on the map. Google has also updated map colors, icons, text styles.

When will we see the new UI? It's not clear, but Google I/O is next week.

{ Thanks, Florian K. }

The latest version of Google Maps for iOS added a small feature that's really useful: manually changing distance units. Just tap the "people" icon next to the search box, tap the "wheel" icon, go to the "distance units" section and select "miles" or "kilometres".


Until now, the application used the unit that corresponded to the country you've selected in the iPhone's settings (General/International/Regional format). If you've picked "United States", Google Maps only displayed distance information in miles.

Unfortunately, the "regional format" setting affects a lot of features, including the Google URL used by Safari's search box. If you select any other country than the United States, you're always sent to the corresponding international domain.

Google Maps 1.1 for iOS also integrates with Google Contacts and adds a feature that lets you "quickly search for local places by selecting popular categories such as restaurants, bars, cafes, gas stations". Right now, the most important missing feature is the lack of native iPad support.

Apple stopped using Google's maps service in iOS6 and switched to other providers. The new application added cool features like turn-by-turn navigation and vector maps, but the coverage isn't that great. There are many countries with incomplete databases of streets and points of interests, a lot of mistakes, poor geocoding accuracy, outdated maps and empty spots. Even Apple admitted that the app is not good enough.

After a few months of waiting, Google finally released a native maps app for iPhone. It requires iOS 5.1 and it's not optimized for iPad yet. The application has all the features of the old maps app and many new features: integration with Google Accounts, vector maps with 3D views, turn-by-turn navigation, Google+ Places integration, search suggestions and online search history. It doesn't have all the features from the Android app, but it's only the first version.

The interface is completely new and you need some time to get used to the new gestures. Google opted for a non-standard interface with few buttons and native controls so that you can see more of the map. "The app shows more map on screen and turns mobile mapping into one intuitive experience. It’s a sharper looking, vector-based map that loads quickly and provides smooth tilting and rotating of 2D and 3D views," explains Google.





Google also released a SDK for iOS apps. "With the Google Maps SDK for iOS, developers can feature Google Maps in their applications on the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad. Also, the SDK makes it simple to link to Google Maps for iPhone from inside your app, enabling your users to easily search and get directions."

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Google Maps app for iOS is almost ready for launch. "Google has been putting the finishing touches on the app before submitting it for approval to the Apple iTunes store, though it's unclear exactly when that will happen."

The new app will include all the feature from Apple's old maps app, but also turn-by-turn navigation. It's likely that Google wants to build a better app than the built-in iOS 6 maps app, so it must include turn-by-turn directions and flyover maps.

Even if Google submits the app for approval in the coming weeks, it's not obvious that you'll be able download it so soon because Apple could reject the app or delay its approval. The new version of the Google Search app for iOS was announced 3 months ago, but it was approved two weeks ago.

For now, you can use the Google Maps web app, which has recently added support for Street View. There's also the great Nokia Maps web app.

Google Maps no longer recommends to swim across the Atlantic Ocean if you want to go from the United States to Europe. Google found a better way: "sail across the Pacific Ocean".


Google's directions from New York to Paris are quite straightforward: go to Seattle, then swim across Pacific to Hawaii, swim again to Asia where you are directed to drive through Asia and Europe to reach France. After only 519 hours you're supposed to reach the destination.

{ Thanks, Anon. }

Sometimes web apps are better than native apps because they can be constantly updated and users always have the latest version. Google still hasn't released a native Google Maps app for iOS, but it has improved the mobile web app by adding support for street view. Now the Google Maps web app has all the features from Apple's old maps, even if the performance is inferior.

"With access to Street View on your phone, you can use panoramic, street-level imagery to explore and navigate the places around you, even on the go," informs Google. Obviously, Street View for mobile browsers uses SVG and HTML5, not Flash.



If you've updated an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to iOS 6, open maps.google.com in Safari, tap the arrow icon and then "add to home screen". Now you can open Google Maps from the home screen, search for local business, get directions, switch to the satellite view or open your personalized maps. Google has constantly improved the maps service in the past 7 years, so Apple has a lot to catch up.

The Google Maps web app is not new, but it will be used a lot more, now that Google Maps links no longer send users to the built-in maps app and open in the browser.

Now that Apple's iOS 6 has a maps app that no longer uses Google Maps, many people wonder if Google will release its own app. After all, the built-in maps app has been developed by Apple and it didn't include many Google Maps features. Maybe Google wanted to keep features like navigation Android-only, maybe Apple focused on the new app and ignored the old app. One thing is clear: the Android app for Google Maps was a lot better than Apple's app.

The Next Web reports that Jeff Huber, Senior VP at Google, said that Google "looks forward to providing amazing Google Maps experiences on iOS." Google will compete with the built-in maps app so it will have to include features that used to be limited to Android like vectorial maps, offline maps, navigation, integration with Google Places and new features like the "fly-over" maps. Google says that it will add "3D models to entire metropolitan areas to Google Earth on mobile devices," but an app that combines Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Local would be more useful. Upgrading the Google Earth app is much easier than building a new app and the existing users won't have to install another application. Google Earth is the second most popular Google app for iOS, after Google Search.

The next version of Apple's iOS includes a new maps app that's no longer powered by Google Maps. Apple now uses data from TomTom, OpenStreetMap, Yelp to provide a more comprehensive experience that rivals the Android app for Google Maps. Apple Maps offers turn-by-turn directions, Siri integration, local business reviews from Yelp, "flyover" 3D maps.

Flyover lets you "see major metro areas from the air with photo-realistic, interactive 3D views" and it's a clever combination of Google Earth and Street View. Last year, Apple acquired C3 Technologies and used its technology for the 3D maps.


Obviously, Apple's new maps app no longer includes Street View, Google Transit, Google's comprehensive maps and local search and many users will miss these features. Google will lose a significant amount of mobile traffic and an important data source for Google Maps, but it will be able to release a much better Google Maps app, assuming that Apple approves it. After all, Google Maps is one of the best apps for Android and Google has constantly added new features, while Apple's maps app hasn't improved too much.

Google Maps has a great new feature that shows 3D photo tours for more than 15,000 landmarks using the images submitted by Panoramio and Picasa Web users. Google displays an image preview next to the local search results that have photo tours, so it's easy to find them. Here are some examples: La Sagrada Familia, La Tour Eiffel, Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Hungarian State Opera House, Trevi Fountain. The feature uses WebGL, so it only works in Chrome, Firefox and Safari (where it's disabled by default).


"To produce these photo tours, we use advanced computer vision techniques to create a 3D experience from public, user-contributed Picasa and Panaromio photos. We start by finding clusters of overlapping photos around major landmarks. From the photos, our system derives the 3D shape of each landmark and computes the location and orientation of each photo. Google Maps then selects a path through the best images, and adds 3D transitions to seamlessly guide you from photo to photo as if you're literally flying around the landmark and viewing it from different perspectives," explains Google.

Nikolaas, a reader of this blog, noticed that Pegman - the Google Street View icon - looks different for Belgium. When you try to move the icon, you'll notice that Pegman got some French fries.


"Occasionally Pegman dresses up for special events and occasions, or is even joined by peg friends in Google Maps. Some of these icons stay in Google Maps for specific locations, such as the skiing Pegman at Whistler Blackcomb Mountain and the penguin for Street View imagery of Half Moon Island, Antarctica," explains Google.

Street View was launched two months ago in Belgium, but it's not clear why Pegman looks different. Maybe because French fries originate from Belgium.

{ Thanks, Nikolaas. }

Rodney G., a reader of this blog noticed a new feature in Google Maps. "When you search for a city or a county or a ZIP Code, Google Maps now highlights the boundaries of what you searched for. If you are zoomed out, the whole area is shaded pink. If you zoom in a bit, it has just a big pink border with grey shading. Zoom in even more and it's a dashed boundary with grey shading."




It's a really useful feature and the nice thing is that's enabled by default. Just search for a country, a city, a state or a ZIP code and Google Maps will automatically highlight it.

{ Thanks, Rodney. }

If you like the Google Maps app for Android and you wonder why it looks better than the desktop Google Maps, there's a new experimental interface that uses WebGL and it's available in Chrome 14+ and Firefox 8+. If you click "Want to try something new?" in the Google Maps sidebar and enable MapGL, you'll see a completely new Google Maps interface that shows 3D buildings and no longer uses Flash for Street View.


"We've rebuilt Google Maps from the ground up. Our enhanced Maps provide improved performance, richer 3D graphics, smoother transitions between imagery, 45° view rotation, easier access to Street View and more," explains Google.




Google says that the new interface requires Chrome 14 or Firefox 8 (beta), Windows Vista/7 or Mac OS 10.6+ or Linux and a graphics card that supports WebGL. I've tested in Chrome 14 and it works well: the animations are smooth and Google Maps looks more like a native app.

Google Maps replaced the static icons for the satellite and street maps layers with interactive previews of the layers. I'm not sure if they're useful, but they look a lot better than the icons.

Corey, a reader of this blog, found a better way to describe the new feature: "When you're looking at a map in normal view, the satellite view button shows what the satellite view looks like on the little square where the button is and acts like a window to satellite view like you're looking through the regular map and it follows the map as it moves. I thought that was pretty cool."



{ Thanks, Corey. }