- [Instructor] In this video,
I show you more than 30 features
in Google Maps on mobile that will have you using the app
like a pro.
(upbeat music)
Google Maps on mobile has an enormous amount
of useful features that are only used
by a small proportion of people.
The app isn't just for directions and finding listings
for businesses, but it can also provide invaluable help
whether traveling for fun or work
or coordinating your leisure plans
with your friends and family.
In this video, I reveal more than 30 features
that will make Google Maps central to your digital life.
Probably one of the main reasons to use Google Maps
is to get directions and navigate to a destination,
whether that's to find a business
or for your own personal leisure pursuits.
Most people are aware of the basic functions,
but there are even more features that will help you
get to your destination faster and smarter.
Did you can set your home and work locations,
plus add additional locations that are important
to your everyday life?
By adding addresses that are important to you,
the Maps' user interface will enable you to navigate
to and from work or home with a few taps.
Now, when you are searching for your regular destinations,
you can simply tap the search bar
and then your personal list is available underneath.
To set your home, work and other preferred locations,
tap your profile picture, then settings,
and then edit home or work.
To add additional locations,
simply tap the blue plus sign button,
enter the name or address, then give the location a label.
And now it will be available via a quick list
underneath your search bar.
Another extremely useful feature for frequent travelers
is the ability to set departure and arrival times
when finding directions.
Let's say you have to take a flight and need to arrive
at the airport at a specific time.
You can calculate the best time to leave your home
to ensure you don't miss your plane.
Or if you'd like to know what time you're gonna reach
your hotel after touching down,
Google Maps can give you that information.
All you need to do is input the start and finish locations,
then tap the three dots.
Now choose set depart or arrive time.
For the first example, to make sure you leave your house
in good time to make your flight,
you'll want to choose arrive by,
and then add the time you need to arrive at your airport
to catch your flight.
Next, choose the date you will travel and then tap set.
Google Maps will then propose the best time to leave
based on the traffic data.
For the second example, let's say you need
to let your hotel know you're going to be arriving
for a late check-in.
Just choose depart time instead based on the time
you estimate your flight will land,
you'll clear immigration and the luggage claim
to get an accurate arrival time at the hotel.
Once you've set your directions, if you want to review
the specifics of your journey,
you can do that by reading the turn by turn directions
instead of looking at the map.
Just tap steps.
Tapping on the street view thumbnail by each instruction
will now give you a 360 degree photo enabling you to review
any tricky parts of your journey in advance.
On your journey, you might realize that you need
to make a pit stop to get gas, sunscreen or pick up a friend
or work colleague.
Tapping the magnifying glass will give you quick access
to the most common destinations, or you can enter an address
or search for a business on your detour.
After tapping the extra destination and then add stop,
Google Maps will recalculate the route,
even adjusting the overall route to save you time.
If you need to remove a stop, simply tap on the card
at the bottom of the screen and then tap remove next stop.
If you're the one driving,
Google Maps has a new driving mode that replaces
the standard user interface with one that gives
greater accessibility when you need to concentrate
on the road.
Currently, the feature is in preview only in the US, Canada,
Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, India, and Singapore,
and only works on a device running Android 9.0 or higher.
Driving mode gives you even better hands-free options
featuring larger buttons to access your favorite apps,
such as your preferred music player, being able to accept
or decline phone calls, and adjusting the navigation.
The mode also includes a more driver-friendly assistant
who can answer calls with verbal prompts
or read your text messages out loud.
Better still, other types of notifications from your email,
social media apps, and anything not central to your journey
will be muted by default to reduce distractions.
If you live in a qualifying country and own a device
running Android 9.0 or higher, you can activate the preview
by tapping your picture, then settings,
then navigation settings, then Google Assistance settings.
While on route to your destination,
you might want to adjust the volume of the turn by turn
audio navigation.
You could simply turn down the volume on your phone.
However, if you connect it to your car stereo via Bluetooth,
this would mean you'd also be turning down your music,
podcast or audio book.
Google Maps gives you the ability to choose the loudness
and types of your notifications while you're navigating.
To adjust the volume, go to the settings and then choose
guidance volume to suit your preference from softer,
normal, or louder.
You can also make some other adjustments in this menu,
including whether you want the audio notifications
to be broadcast over your Bluetooth connection.
To adjust the types of notifications,
you can simply tap on the speaker icon
on the main screen to choose between alerts only
for traffic alerts or mute the navigation altogether.
You can choose your preferred media provider
in the navigation menu.
The main options are YouTube Music, Spotify and Deezer.
When planning a trip by car, Google Maps provides
another helpful tool to avoid wasting time.
Within the app, you can select to view the traffic status
of any selected location, alerting you to roads and routes
that might be abnormally busy or congested.
Tap on the map layer icon
and you'll be presented with a few options.
Tap on traffic and now the roads will be highlighted
in green, yellow and red.
Green road signify no traffic delays.
Yellow signifies some congestion,
while red routes signify heavy delays.
Furthermore, dark red signifies stopped
or nearly stopped traffic.
If you make a regular commute or journey,
you might want to save that route for easier access,
rather than having to enter the location
each and every time.
After setting your first route and tapping directions,
now you'll see an option at the bottom
of the screen called pin.
Tapping the icon now saves the route
to a handy location on the starting screen of Google Maps.
When opening the app,
there is a section at the bottom called go.
Your saved routes are now available at the top
of the card that pops up.
Plus, Google even proposes routes you might like to save
based on your search and navigation history.
If you'd like even more media access to a preferred route,
you can pin the route to your home screen on your phone.
Tap on the three dots and tap add route to home screen.
Now you can find that route as a shortcut
right from the home pages on your device.
Tapping on the shortcut will launch straight into navigation
to that destination.
Being stuck in traffic is never fun.
And so if you're feeling generous, you can report incidents
and delays for other drivers or commuters.
Your update will be added to the available data
generating routes for other people.
To make a report, tap on the speech bubble icon
during a trip to bring up a sub menu.
Here, you can report incidents, speed cameras, roadworks,
or hazardous objects on the road.
One of the most useful features in Google Maps
is also one of the most hidden.
Google Maps includes the option to record the location
of where you've parked your car.
This is a much needed feature for those who have to leave
their vehicle in a sprawling airport parking lot,
mall or event location.
The option is accessible by tapping the blue dot,
which represents your location.
The sub menu that pops up includes a button
for save your parking.
Tapping once saves the location on the map.
Tapping the card at the bottom enables you
to refine the information further,
including a more accurate address,
notes on the parking row or section,
how much time you have left in the meter,
and the ability to upload a picture of your car
in its spot to make it easier to find again.
For commuters and travelers on foot,
live view is an exciting new addition to Google Maps.
Previously, navigating around on foot was reliant
on following along using the blue dot on the map.
Even then, like me, you might've set off thinking
you were heading in the right direction
only to find you are going the wrong way after all.
Now through the power of augmented reality,
you can use your phone to visually see the direction
and distance to your target destination.
What's more, the feature also reveals nearby businesses
and points of interest for you in real time.
To activate live view, either choose live view at the bottom
of the screen with walking navigation option
or while your route is programmed in,
tap the live view icon.
It'll require a little calibration to get its bearings,
but after following the onscreen instructions,
it will show a route to your destination via virtual signs.
Another major way that Google Maps can enhance your life
is via features that can help plan your holidays
and vacations.
Whether planning a trip for your annual holiday
or sharing places of interest for visiting friends
and relatives, Google Maps is an invaluable tool.
Google Maps gives you the ability to save locations
in various lists.
The two default lists are favorites and starred.
The difference between favorites and starred places is one
is for things like your favorite restaurants
and the other is for places such as your doctor's office.
You are able to create your own custom list too.
This is especially useful for holiday planning.
You can research before getting on a plane
so you can spend more time doing the things
you want to do on arrival rather than spending precious time
researching while you're there.
Custom lists are also shareable so that you can create
a list of the best places to visit in your hometown
to share with visiting friends and relatives.
To create a custom list, it's as simple as finding
the business listing or location on Google Maps,
tapping save, and then tapping new list.
You then have a choice of making the list private,
shared, or public.
Another great feature in Google Maps
is seeing ride sharing options when looking at
modes of transport while planning a route.
Large towns and cities serviced by popular ride sharing
companies are included directly within the app.
You can even see the estimated fee for the journey
before opening the ride sharing app from the map interface.
To review the ride sharing options,
simply plan your route and then scroll
to the ride sharing icon on the right.
The available services are right at the bottom
of the card along with the approximate location
of available cars.
Google Maps also includes exhaustive
public transport options for larger metropolitan areas.
By tapping on the public transport icon,
you'll be presented with three categories
for the best way to travel separated into: least walking,
more by bus and more by subway,
depending on the city or town.
In certain locations, scrolling down also reveals
more eco-friendly options, such as municipal public bikes
and private hire scooters.
You could also set your departure or arrival time
and filter the available options to remove services.
Other options are based on your preferences for speed,
fewest transfers, less walking,
and wheelchair accessibility,
and this is all within the user interface.
Google Maps is a great resource for planning
your personal entertainment
or even arranging dinner plans with friends.
The app has expanded to include features
that will provide personalized recommendations
based on your preferences.
Tapping on update from the main screen brings out
one of the best features of Google Maps.
Hidden away behind this rather innocuous icon,
is a recommendation system based on personal preferences,
plus your local media articles.
The algorithm generates lists of local businesses
based on your likes, location, and what is trending
based on other user feedback.
Better still, there's a section devoted
to curated content by local guides.
These are amateur enthusiasts who devote time and energy
to find great local places.
Finally, the algorithm also generates recommendations
after analyzing the types of businesses
you previously liked and rated positively.
Every location on Google Maps includes a very handy feature
that enables you to plan your visit if you want
to avoid crowds and get faster service.
If you scroll down on a Google Maps listing,
you will eventually come to a section called popular times.
This dynamic section shows you the average concentration
of customers or visitors based on time of day
by using crowdsource data from other Google Maps users.
You can also choose different days of the week
giving you the ability to plan well into the future.
Google Maps gives you the ability to review internal maps
and layouts of the most popular malls
and public places of interest.
When you zoom into a mall for example,
you're able to review the individual locations of businesses
in their units, which is enormously helpful when planning
a visit or even just navigating to a different store
once you're inside the mall.
It's not always easy to remember which places
that you've already been to,
and a minor feature that comes free as part of the data
collecting information of Google Maps is the ability
to review that you've already visited a place.
Scroll down on a business listing and Google Maps
will tell you whether you've visited before
and how long ago.
Google Maps includes features that enable you
to coordinate plans with friends and family.
Plus the location tracking features provide
an additional way to increase family safety.
One such example would be alleviating the need
to send regular updates on your estimated time
of arrival for a meetup.
In another situation, you could use your location sharing
to give your family peace of mind during a night out
or on a road trip by enabling them to simply check
your location without the need to bug you.
To share your location,
all you have to do is tap on the blue dot.
You then tap share location and you'll be presented
with an option to share your location
for a set amount of time or until you turn off the feature.
Then below you'll see a short list of contacts
with Google Maps, starting with VIP contacts,
or you can select one of many ways to share your location
via other apps, including email.
The ability to share your location is also available
as part of a route that you've already created
using direction.
This time, simply tap on the card
and tap share trip progress.
Another benefit to having Google Maps attached
to your Google Contacts is that you can search for friends
and acquaintances by name
rather than having to remember their addresses.
This is a great feature for various situations
where you need to quickly navigate to a contact's home
or place of work.
This final part of the video covers some quick shortcuts
and hidden user features that will make certain
everyday tasks and actions much easier.
By simply tapping and holding the address
of a business listing, you can copy the information
to your phone's clipboard.
You can then paste this information into any app,
including ongoing conversations and messages in WhatsApp.
You can download and save areas of Google Maps
to your phone.
This is especially useful for areas
where you'll be out of carrier service while on a road trip,
or if you find yourself driving around
a particular location a lot, it can save you using up data
on your phone's plan.
To download an area and save it to your phone,
first search for the area you want to save.
Tap your profile picture, and then tap offline maps.
Now tap select your own map.
Now zoom in and out and make the map as localized
or as big an area as you want.
Don't forget, the bigger the area,
the more data you'll need to save to your phone storage.
If you're at home and on your computer or laptop,
you can send a map to your phone.
This is great for planning trips and arrangements
while you're at your desk
and quickly being able to leave your office or house.
Simply find the location or create the route you want
on your desktop, and then you can click send to your phone
or send directions to your phone.
You'll then see a notification on your phone
which you can tap on and it'll launch Google Maps
automatically for you.
While you can pinch to zoom, if you're using your phone
one-handed, you can still zoom simply by tapping
and holding your finger on the screen
and then swiping up or down while maintaining contact
on the device.
Sometimes while using your phone to navigate on Maps,
you want to be able to see a little more of the route,
but the app's own user interface
obscures some of the detail.
However, simply by tapping on the map itself,
the top and bottom user interface will both retract
showing more of the map.
A small but useful addition to your search options
is the ability to filter by relevance, distance,
or personal match.
You don't always want the closest business based
on your criteria, or you might want the closest list,
not necessarily the one that meets
your personal preferences.
By tapping on the filter, you can switch between
three filters to give you the best option.
A search for coffee in your local area can be tailored
to find the best artisanal coffee shop
rather than the chain restaurant even if it's closer.
One of the most recent functionality updates for businesses
and brands is the ability to update
their Google Maps listing with news, stories, events,
and other temporary updates.
By tapping follow on the business listing,
you can make sure that you'll receive the latest news
from your favorite businesses or brands
in the update section of the app.
Another little known feature is the ability
to measure distances on Google Maps.
All you have to do is press and hold your finger
on the screen under an existing listing
or point of interest and it will drop a pin on the map.
Then if you scroll around, you can then tap measure distance
and scroll the screen to a second point on the map
and Google Maps will give you the distance
in your preferred units of measurement.
Timeline is a feature that has some interesting applications
beyond just reminiscing about previous trips.
Tapping on your profile picture and then your timeline
brings up a way to review and refine
all your previous trips.
If you're opted in, it supplies details
on your movements by day.
This powerful feature empowers you to take more control
of your day-to-day life, keep automatic records
of your activities, and provides a useful resource
whether for home or work life.
This last tip is a very little known
and deeply buried feature that will further refine
your Google Maps usage based on your topics of interest.
Tap on your profile picture, and then settings,
then scroll to manage your preferences.
Here, you can choose dietary options and types of food
you most enjoy, plus other types of venues,
such as live music and businesses that feature art.
Google Maps will further refine the recommendations for you
when using the app.
As ever, if you made it this far and found the video
interesting and informative,
it'd be great if you were to like it.
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