14 DAY TRIAL // Google has unleashed version 3.0.0 of its widely-used Maps application on iOS platforms, adding some much requested features. Turn-by-turn navigation now gives lane guidance faster route overviews, and navigation mode now displays travel time, distance, and estimated arrival all at once.
“The Google Maps app for iPhone and iPad makes navigating your world faster and easier,” says the Mountain View search giant. “Find the best spots in town and the information you need to get there.”
In build 3.0.0, Google Maps for iPhone and iPad offers an updated version of the turn-by-turn navigation feature, which now includes lane guidance and quick access to route overview, with the ability to see travel time, distance, and ETA in navigation mode, all at once.
Users can save a map for offline viewing to a custom list they keep on their device. This is ideal for when you’re traveling or have a poor Internet connection, says Google.
The total walking time of your trip and the next scheduled bus or train are now displayed in transit results, and you can filter out search results for restaurants, bars, and hotels by criteria like rating, price, and opening hours, among others.
You can see your “Places to review” list from recently-saved or searched-for places by simply signing into your Google account, and if you’re also using the Uber app, you can launch it right from Google Maps.
The customer base has been asking for features like accessing contacts directly from the Google Maps app, the ability to tap and hold anywhere on the map to drop a pin, save and share that location, as well as search without typing using Google Voice Search. All this has been delivered in Maps 3.0.0, including a scale bar to estimate distances.
Google Maps 3.0.0 supports English, Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
The system requirements haven’t changed. To download Google Maps 3.0.0 you need iOS 6.0 (or later) and a supported iDevice, starting with iPhone 3GS, iPad second generation, iPod touch fourth generation, and iPod touch fifth generation. The app is universal, meaning it displays natively on all screen types/sizes, including the biggest iPads.
Apple continues to maintain its own Maps application to compete with Google and offers 3D Flyover views for major cities around the world, with new ones added on a regular basis. Also worth noting is that Apple Maps already offered some of the features added by Google today, while some (like public transit directions) won't make their way into the software until iOS 8 is out.