Google Maps update brings split screen mode for Street View

[Lurker]

 

Google Maps for Android is one of the most actively developed Google apps, with new features and improvements routinely being added to the navigation app. In the last two months alone, the app has gained quite a few functionalities, including a new community feed, a Go tab for accessing frequently visited places, messaging for verified businesses, a new driving mode, and food delivery alerts. The app will also soon start showing COVID-19 vaccine locations in the US. Now the Google Maps on Android is picking up a new split-screen UI that makes it easier to navigate in the Street View mode. This feature has long been available on the Google Map’s web version, but it’s only now making its way to smartphones.

 

As first spotted by Reddit user /u/p3nsive (via 9to5Google), the new UI launches automatically when you drop a pin on the map and enter the Street View mode. The Google Maps’ screen splits in half, with the upper half of the screen occupied by the Street View interface and the corresponding map shown in the bottom half. The Street View path is indicated in blue on the map, and there’s a Telegram logo-like indicator that shows your current position. You can also open the Street View mode in full screen and return to the split-screen with a simple tap.

In the old UI, it was easy to get lost and roam around aimlessly. The new split-screen UI gives you a much better understanding of exactly where you’re on the map and makes it easier to navigate your way around in the Street View mode.

The new split-screen UI with Street View is rolling out via a server-side switch on the latest version of Google Maps for Android. It was available on our phone running Google Maps v10.59.1. At the time being, the new split-screen UI is only rolling out to Android devices.

source:

Google Maps makes it easier to navigate with a split screen Street View UI (xda-developers.com)