With Search with Live View, you can hold your phone up while walking around London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, San Francisco, or Tokyo, and Google Maps will display relevant information based on what it sees through your camera. This includes street names, landmarks, restaurants, ATMs, and hotels. In Google Maps, simply tap on the camera icon next to the microphone.
The change is an example of how Google is attempting to modernize its services by combining the data-gathering capabilities of our phones with the power of its massive information databases.Typing text to find information is useful, but Google’s advances in this area with cameras and augmented reality are geared toward making sense of the world around us in a more direct way.
Another notable Google Maps change is for owners of electric vehicles who need to charge their vehicles. Google Maps has been updated to allow you to filter charging station information to find plugs that are compatible with your EV or fast chargers.
Maps will also include wheelchair icons for those who require accessibility.
Google promises to add more cities in the future.
Starting on Thursday, multisearch will include food-related queries. If you see a dish you want to try, you can use the Google app’s Lens feature to take a picture or take a screenshot and then add the words “near me.” This reveals nearby restaurants that serve that dish.
According to Google, the Lens AR translation system is also better at interpreting signs and more in foreign languages and showing the translation in your language. This is especially useful when trying to understand a menu in another language.
Sneakerheads will also be able to use AR to view 3D renderings of shoes they want to purchase.
Shopping for beauty products will be made easier later Thursday as well, with Google showing how a specific makeup product will look. A new collection of 148 models has skin tones to match yours. When you search for beauty products in Google, Google will show you various models with makeup on. Before and after photos will be able to be compared. People can make a more informed decision by selecting the model with the skin tone that most closely matches their own.
- To learn more on how to navigate with Google Maps you can check also the article How to Drop a Pin on Google Maps
