The all-new Acura ZDX EV will be the company’s first auto to feature built-in Google apps. This includes Google Assistant, Google Maps and more through the Google Play store. Let’s be clear. This announcement is not about Android Automotive, Google’s full automotive operating system, nor is this Android Auto, Google’s phone-powered automotive platform. This is Google apps baked into Acura’s infotainment system. It isn’t obvious, I know. Moreover, the Acura ZDX will also feature Android Auto and Apple CarPlay for those owners who prefer those systems. Image Credits: Acura The built-in Google ..read more

Google Maps is going to introduce a new “Immersive View for Routes” feature in select cities, Google announced at its annual I/O conference today. The new feature brings all of the information that a user may need into one place, including details about traffic simulations, bike lanes, complex intersections, parking and more. Immersive View for Routes will start to roll out in the coming months in 15 cities, including Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paris, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Tokyo and Venice. The feature will roll out on both ..read more

Google is introducing new Maps features to make it easier for users to navigate national parks using the app. The tech giant says the new updates are designed to help users find the information they need when visiting a national park, such as discovering things to do and finding your way around the park. With this update, when you search for a trail, Google Maps will highlight the entire route on the map, instead of just a pin. The company says this feature is meant to help people easily identify where a trail ends and starts, and what the route looks like. You’ll also be able to see reviews a ..read more

Hivemapper, the startup that puts dashcams on ride-hail and delivery vehicles to map the world, is getting a little closer to its goal of toppling the B2B mapping empire that Google has built. With only 2% of the world’s roads mapped, Hivemapper is still very much the underdog in this fight. But Gabe Nelson, Hivemapper’s head of operations, reckons the startup is reaching an inflection point that will lead to exponential scale. Hivemapper said Thursday it collected more than 1 million kilometers (about 620,000 miles) of unique street-level imagery. Compared to Google’s 60 million kilometers, t ..read more

Google is rolling out new features for electric vehicles with Google Maps built in, the company said at its Live from Paris event Wednesday. The features, iterations of which were introduced in November to the Maps smartphone app, aim to alleviate the symptoms of range anxiety for EV drivers. Drivers using Maps on their car’s display screen will be able to easily find nearby charging stations that have chargers of 150 kilowatts or higher capacity for a faster charge. Additionally, for any trip that requires a stop to charge an EV, Maps will suggest the best stop based on factors like the curre ..read more

Google is gearing up to launch several new updates for Maps in the coming months, the company announced today at its Search On event. Google teased the upcoming launches of new Maps features called Immersive view, Neighborhood vibe and Search with Live View. The company says all of the features announced today are part of its efforts to build a visual-first Maps experience to help users navigate the world more naturally. Immersive view The upcoming Immersive View feature, which Google first announced at I/O in May, is designed to help you plan ahead and get a deeper understanding of a city bef ..read more

Google is introducing a new Maps feature called “Neighborhood vibe,” the company announced today at its Search On event. The feature is designed to give users an instant understanding of a specific neighborhood right in the Maps app. Neighborhood Vibe surfaces photos and information from the Google Maps community to give you an idea of the most popular and trendy places in a given neighborhood. Chris Phillips, the VP and GM of Geo at Google, told reporters during a briefing that the feature determines the vibe of a neighborhood by combining AI with local content from Maps users who add more th ..read more