All articles tagged with #google maps
Sir Anthony Hopkins, Port Talbot-born and Hollywood legendary, says he still returns to Wales in his mind almost daily, often revisiting his old streets via Google Maps; as he releases his first album inspired by childhood memories, he recalls Bracken Road lemon curd sandwiches and credits his Welsh upbringing—dreams that began at Port Talbot's Plaza Cinema—with shaping his identity and artistry.
Samsung, partnering with Google, unveils smart glasses claiming up to nine hours of battery life per charge—one hour more than Meta's Ray-Ban Gen 2—with a charging case that adds seven more charges. The glasses use the Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chip, come in two frames (Gentle Monster and Warby Parker), feature a recording LED, and offer native support for Samsung Notes and Google apps (Gmail, Calendar, Maps). They aim to surpass Meta on battery life, with shipping this fall and pricing to be announced.
Google Maps determines how busy a business is by aggregating and anonymizing data from users who opt in to Location History to measure phone density and generate Popular Times and live occupancy when there is enough data; privacy protections like differential privacy are used, and data is only shown when sufficient data exists, while the article also notes Google's broader data collection on user behavior.
Google Maps expands its Gemini-powered Ask Maps with multi-step tasks such as ordering meals along your route via partners like Square and Toast (Uber Eats integration coming soon), plus a live transit widget for up-to-the-minute delays. The feature also offers hotel/event lookups, opt-in Gmail-based Personal Intelligence, and memory of past conversations, with broad country expansion planned as rollout continues.
Google expands its Ask Maps chatbot with agentic capabilities, letting users order food through Toast/Square/Uber Eats, book hotels with real-time price and availability checks, and discover live events. It also adds Personal Intelligence to connect Ask Maps with Gmail (Calendar support to come) for tailored suggestions, plus live transit widgets and the ability for Local Guides to submit edits. The rollout starts in the US, with broader availability across 150+ countries later.
A PCMag comparison finds Google Maps superior to Waze in offline usefulness, map details, and immersive features like Immersive Navigation and 3D; Waze’s real-time updates are valuable but not enough to close the gap, with Maps scoring 4.5/5 and Waze 3.5/5.
A detailed comparison of Apple Maps, Google Maps, and Waze for Apple CarPlay, highlighting Google Maps’ offline navigation, 3D visuals, and route options; Apple Maps’ seamless Apple ecosystem integration and Live ETA sharing; and Waze’s real-time hazard alerts and personalized features, to help drivers pick the best navigation app based on offline use, customization, alerts, and device integration.
Amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe spotted a 15-km-wide pit near Lake Marsal on Google Maps, which geologists confirmed in 2025 is a 390-million-year-old meteorite impact crater now named Uhaachatik Crater after the Ekuanitshit Innu council; evidence includes zircon, shatter cones, and melt rock, with findings set to be presented at the Meteoritical Society congress, highlighting citizen science and Indigenous collaboration.
Google is widening the server-side rollout of two long-awaited Android Auto features—Immersive Navigation and a built-in live speedometer—so more users (including those on stable Maps builds) can benefit from richer guidance and current-speed display, though availability still varies by region and device and doesn’t require a new app version.
An amateur astronomer in Québec spotted a 15.5‑mile circular feature on Google Maps. A field visit confirmed it as a meteorite crater dating about 390 million years, thanks to impact melt-rock and shatter cones, with findings to be presented at the Meteoritical Society Meeting—highlighting the value of citizen science.
Android Authority reports that Google Maps is being prepared to integrate Gemini’s Personal Intelligence, enabling Maps to surface reservations, flights, and other data by tapping connected Google apps (Gmail, Google Photos, Google Workspace, YouTube, and more). The discovery also notes two new sections in Maps—Connected Content Apps and Personalization—that currently load indefinitely, indicating the features are still under development.
Google Maps on Android Auto is adding a live speedometer—a long-awaited feature already available on phones and CarPlay. The rollout is server-side and limited to a small number of beta users (Maps version 26.29.02.946673643), with the speed readout shown beside the speed limit and changes color when you exceed it. While not universally available yet, this marks Android Auto’s move toward feature parity with rival in-car navigation as Google expands Maps upgrades.
Google Maps Street View can permanently blur your home for free: on a desktop, search your address in maps.google.com, click the Street View photo, choose Report a Problem, outline the area to blur (select 'home'), provide details and your email, then submit for Google’s review; once approved, the blur is permanent, though the process is less convenient on mobile (best done from a web browser).
A camper’s intuition on Google Maps led researchers to confirm a 15-mile-wide meteor crater in Quebec’s Côte-Nord region. Fieldwork revealed shatter cones and impact melt rock, dating the crater to about 390 million years ago, making it one of the larger known craters worldwide (with roughly 200 total known crater sites and 31 in Canada).
An amateur using Google Maps spotted a pit in Quebec’s Côte-Nord that turned out to be a 390-million-year-old meteor crater named Uhackatik, about 25 km across. A four-person team confirmed the site in 2025 after a rugged field expedition, finding impact melt rock and shatter cones as evidence. The discovery ranks among the larger craters identified in recent years and will be presented at the Meteoritical Society congress in Germany.