Google Maps, whether you use it on Android or iOS, is an application filled with features – guides to see in your region to the possibility of sharing your location with friends and family in real time. This is one of the most complete applications on the market, and Google regularly adds new features.
Google Maps is also fully compatible with Android Auto and Apple Carplay, so if you have one or both services installed on the dashboard of your vehicle, you will see the mapping application appear when your Android phone or iPhone is connected. There are several useful features in which you can press Google Maps on this second screen.
Change the appearance of your vehicle
You don’t have to be satisfied with the standard blue arrow that represents your vehicle on the card: search for the instructions for your trip to your phone and the preview card (showing the estimated journey time), press the icon showing three cursors to the right. Then choose Driving avatar To choose a new icon and a new color for the card.
Find a place to stop on the way
If you want to stop for gas, grocery store or something else during your trip, you are lucky: you can do it without losing the navigation step by step which is already displayed on the screen. On the travel card on Android Auto (showing the estimated journey time), press the enlargement window icon, then search for the type of place you are looking for.
You will see some examples, such as cafes and service stations, which you can select with a tap. Google Maps shows you the best correspondences along your current route, as well as the time that the detour will take – on one of the options to add it to your route. The step -by -step instructions are then updated to include the additional stop that you have just added.
It’s a little different if you use Google Maps via Apple Carplay: you press the travel card, then press Stop Above, which reveals a list of suggestions. Android Auto and Apple Carplay allow you to type or speak a specific type of location in which you want to stop. As always, be careful to do all of this while you move.
Change the card perspective
On Android Auto, you will see a compass icon on the right. Press this switch between three card views: a view in 3D perspective, a view of the head to the north and an overview of the trip. On Apple Carplay, you only get 3D and North Up views; You can get them by pressing the travel card showing your travel time, then the equipment icon.
Help other road users
Google Maps comes with integrated feature to alert other users on what’s going on on the road. If you use Google Maps in Android Auto or Apple Carplay, you can find it by pressing the yellow risk icon (the triangle) to the left or right of the interface. A new box appears to allow you to report a range of incidents to your location.
The options here vary slightly depending on where you are in the world, but they will generally include Accident,, CongestionAnd Track closure. If enough Google Maps users report to the same place, then Google will update its traffic databases accordingly, so everyone sees the additional information you have added.
Choose what is displayed on the screen
You have options with regard to what is shown on the map. On the screen of your vehicle, press the equipment icon (Android Auto), or the travel card, then the equipment icon (Apple Carplay), and you get options to display current traffic conditions and a satellite view. On Android Auto, there is also a view of 3D buildings that you can use instead of the satellite card.
Share your trip with other people
Whether you head to a working conference or a family meeting, the people you meet will appreciate knowing when you really arrive (and this saves you from continuing to stop messages allowing everyone to know that you are going to be late).
However, when writing the editorial’s moment, this is only available in Google Maps on Android Auto. Press the three points of the travel card (showing your estimated journey time), then choose Share. A list of contacts appears, but you can also search in the list by typing or speaking. Your chosen contact can then see where you are as your trip progresses.
Change the audio prompts you hear
You don’t necessarily want to have each step of a trip pronounced by Google Maps, especially if you try to listen to a podcast, or if you are on a road that you know enough. Press the loudspeaker icon on the dashboard for silent or reactive audio instructions; On Android Auto, you can also choose Alerts only (So ​​just relevant road incidents).
