by Christmas came early late last year as Santa’s elves restored Google Maps to iOS as a third-party app. Seven months later, the mobile Maps has already hit version 2.0 with another stocking full of enhancements, including native support for the iPad. At first glance, Google Maps 2.0 looks identical to the previous version – iOS users were the first to receive this all-new user interface, which finally started arriving on Android devices over the summer. The moment you begin searching, however, changes abound.
A new card-based Explore mode serves up popular hangouts at your current location, sorted by Eat, Drink, Shop, Play, and Sleep. Businesses now include five-star ratings and reviews from Zagat and fellow Google users to round out the package. Maps also enhances existing turn-by-turn navigation with live traffic updates, incident reports, and even indoor maps for many shopping malls, airports and other well-traveled locales. The search giant also appears to have squashed sporadic glitches we encountered with the first version while playing music during navigation.
The big story with Google Maps 2.0 is native iPad support, and it’s just as lush and expansive as we’d hoped. On the third-generation iPad we tested it on, it was also a bit choppier than expected – scrolling isn’t particularly fluid while browsing maps in standard or satellite views, although Street View worked quite well.
For reasons we can’t comprehend, Google Maps still can’t tap into contacts, whether they reside on an iOS device or in Google’s own cloud. For now, this limitation makes Apple’s Maps our go-to app for navigating around town, but Google Maps is still the best bet for long-distance hauls, thanks to a hidden Easter egg that allows the selected map to be saved offline by typing “OK Maps” into the search field.
The bottom line. Even with occasionally choppy graphics on the iPad, Google Maps 2.0 is a sequel that delivers. With live traffic, indoor maps, and the ability to save maps offline, Apple has its work cut out for it with iOS 7’s built-in Maps.
Review Synopsis
Product:
