Google Maps for Android has reportedly received an important quality-of-life update, which will make it much easier to navigate through parts of the interface. According to a report, Google has reworked how the user interface (UI) while searching for directions is displayed in the app, ditching the full-screen in favour of a bottom sliding sheet layout. Additionally, Google Maps has also made upgrades to the Location interface which pops up when a user clicks on a landmark site for more information about it. It is not certain whether the redesign will be rolled out to users on iOS.
The new interface was spotted by 9to5Google, and screenshots shared by the publication show the redesigned Google Maps UI. According to the report, the directions search result page received the most significant upgrade. Earlier, the top of the page was filled with search fields and transportation options from edge to edge , while the bottom would show the estimated travel time along with buttons for Preview, Steps, and Pin.
In the new interface, the search fields are no longer connected to the edge and instead are placed centrally in a rectangular box with curved edges. The top of the screen and the sides still show the map. The transportation options have also been shifted to the bottom, which has adopted a sheet layout with a background sheet. Further, clicking on a particular transport mode does not open it in full-screen mode anymore, and instead only extends a bottom sheet with the map still visible in the background.
This new layout appears to be less cluttered and more immersive, while the removal of the full-screen transport selection window also enables users to switch between different options and see the changes in the map adjacently. These are also in line with Material Design 3 guidelines for the use of bottom sheets in apps.
Apart from this, interface changes have also been made to the Location and Places section, as per the report. A similar sheet layout can be seen when any location is tapped on the Google Maps’ Android app. The sheets are again not full screen, and a little bit of the top portion of the map can still be seen which both feels more immersive and can have a practical use case of adding context to the page. The new Location sheet also comes with Share and Close buttons.
Earlier this week, Google Maps began its wider rollout of another notable upgrade to the Android app where the weather forecast overlay was added to it. The feature added a small box around the left corner of the map browser which shows the current weather within the app, as well as the air quality index (AQI) whenever available. This feature has been available to iOS users for several years, albeit in a more simplified layout.