Google Maps Expands Immersive View to New Cities and More

Google Maps is set to enhance its user experience with the expansion of its Immersive View feature to more cities and landmarks, the introduction of a more streamlined way to navigate, and a handy update to the Recents feature on the desktop version of the platform.

These new updates were announced by Christina Tong, Senior Product Manager at Google Maps, promising a more enriched experience for trip planning and exploration.

Google Maps’ Immersive View feature, which uses AI to combine billions of images to create a comprehensive view of the world, is expanding to four new cities: Amsterdam, Dublin, Florence, and Venice. The feature launched back in February of this year. We have yet to see a Canadian city as part of this feature update.

This feature will also be available for over 500 renowned landmarks worldwide, including Prague Castle and Sydney Harbour Bridge. It aims to provide a detailed virtual tour to users, allowing them to explore different areas, see the weather forecast at different times of day, assess the crowd levels, and even peek inside restaurants and cafes.

In addition to the expansion of Immersive View, Google Maps is also rolling out glanceable directions, a feature designed to simplify navigation for users. It provides essential navigation details right from the lock screen or route overview, including updated Estimated Times of Arrival (ETAs) and the location of the next turn. This feature is set to roll out globally this month and will be available for walking, cycling, and driving modes on Android and iOS.

For those who use Google Maps on desktops, Google is introducing updates to its Recents feature, designed to assist users in planning trips more efficiently. This feature automatically saves and organizes places that users have researched.

With the new update, these places will be saved even after users close their Google Maps window, enabling them to resume their planning without losing any progress. These updates will roll out globally next month and are poised to significantly enhance the planning of multi-stop trips.

These updates underpin Google Maps’ commitment to being the ultimate travel companion for users, ensuring a more comprehensive and efficient experience in trip planning and navigation, concluded Tong.