Google improves offline Maps navigation with search, useful information

Believe it or not, we live in a world where Internet connection is still not reliable and easily accessible especially in remote areas. Even highly developed countries experience outage. According to Google, about 60 percent of the world still do not have Internet access. One of the search giant’s major goals is to bring accurate navigation and directions courtesy of the Google Maps. This particular service has helped millions of people all over the world already and has been integrated by numerous apps already.

Google Maps are very useful but more often than not, you need Internet connection. You can save maps for later use but there are still limits. As a solution, the Google Maps team has enhanced the service by allowing users to download an area to a mobile device. Even if there’s no Internet connection, Maps will still work, giving you turn-by-turn driving directions as needed.

With Google Maps, you can always search for important information about a certain place or destination including ratings, reviews, contact information, hours of operation, if establishment is packed, or even the holiday schedule.

To test this improvement, feel free to download an area. Search for it specifically and then download. You can click on the ‘Download’ link or proceed to the ‘Offline Areas’. Tap the “+” button that you see to start downloading the area map. Google can automatically recognize when you have no connection and will quickly switch to offline mode. This way, you can access the map you saved earlier. Note that offline maps can be limited. Full version will always be better because it provides more information like traffic updates.

This offline map saving with added information is will come with the latest version of Google Maps on Android. Expect more offline features to be introduced in the coming weeks as Google continues to work on enhancements and new features.

SOURCE: Google