Google Maps gives new features to cyclists and location-sharers – tablets and phones – news

Google will introduce new map features for cyclists and to make location sharing even more useful. Cyclists show the percentage of their path that has marked bike paths, eg. Location sharing may be accompanied by notifications at specific locations.

Maps can also provide information about a bike path, for example if users are navigating a main road, or if they have to walk up stairs by bike at a particular point. There will also be a warning if the road is too crowded with vehicular traffic, or if there is a steep climb. Maps previously showed a graph in the supported areas showing the elevation of the cycling path.

Location sharing has also been supporting maps for some time. Users can assign another user if they wish and that person can always see the location of the other person’s device at all times or for a limited time. What is being added now are location-based notifications. They appear when the user arrives and leaves. Users who enable location sharing can still block notifications about it.

Google paints an example of a concert. A group that goes there and shares locations amongst themselves can set a concert hall notice, and then make it easier for that group to coordinate when entering and exiting the building. Another example is a user going for a walk in the wilderness: another user can then set a parking notice from where the walk starts and ends. This way the person sees that the pedestrian has returned safely from their journey.

The last feature that Google offers is an extended feature An overview of “nearly one hundred of the world’s most famous sights”. Users can rotate 360 ​​degrees around these locations. If this perspective is available for a site, users will find it in the photo gallery. Google calls this a prelude to existence immersive show, where users can virtually fly like birds over a 3D city, zoom in on locations and also view them at different times and under different weather conditions. The tech giant says the feature will be available later this year in Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo. Other cities will follow “soon”.

Extensive viewing images and location notifications are currently being rolled out worldwide, and updates for cyclists will follow “in the coming weeks in hundreds of cities where bike navigation is available”, According to Google.