Google Maps starts showing where building entrances and exits are


Corentin Béchade

March 6, 2024 at 10:13 a.m.

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Google Maps gains functionality on Android © Tada Images / Shutterstock

Google Maps gains functionality on Android © Tada Images / Shutterstock

Constantly enriched with new features, Google Maps is now starting a test that shows where exactly the entrances and exits to buildings near you are located.

Quickly becoming a star product in the Google galaxy, Maps is not resting on its laurels. While the company recently deployed a new feature supposed to help you find your way during your daily journeys, another new feature has just timidly appeared on the Android application: the marking of entrances and exits to buildings.

A small-scale test

Spotted by Android Police, these new map markers are clearly being rolled out. They are only present on a handful of buildings at the moment and only appear on the Android application (if it is updated to version 11.17.0101) and on the website. No changes to note at the moment on the iOS application side. During our tests, we only saw these new pictograms around a few museums and a few Parisian train stations.

The small entrance and exit signs on Google Maps © Screenshot Clubic

The small entrance and exit signs on Google Maps © Screenshot Clubic

The signage, which consists of an arrow entering or leaving a rectangle, is also only displayed at the maximum zoom level on the map. You will therefore have to carefully inspect the block if you want to hope to find the entrance to a store on Maps. Given the amount of information already displayed on the Google Maps basemap, it is not a bad idea to condition the display of this detail to very specific conditions, but as it stands, unless you look for it you You are unlikely to come across this information naturally.

Google improves Maps in small steps

This new feature is in fact a continuation of another that Google announced a few weeks ago: the indication of different metro entrances. Announced last November, this new feature aimed to simplify public transport journeys by helping you find the most practical entrances and exits to take during your journeys, like a Citymapper.

After deploying this tool for public transport (visible by clicking on a station name), Google seems to want to test the same type of tools for all journeys in order to help its users never get lost again. Note that the metro entry/exit functionality does not seem to be available on iOS at the moment either.

Source : Android Police



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