At one time or another, we’ve all needed to go somewhere, but didn’t know how to get there. Back in the old days, that probably meant a paper map and trying to plan a route or, in extreme circumstances, asking directions. And sometimes, things went wrong or didn’t work, and we ended up getting lost. Embarrassing to say the least.
Fortunately, those times pretty much ended with the advent of modern GPS navigation systems you could bring along with you in the car to make sure you didn’t end up someplace you didn’t want to go. Of course, the undisputed king of modern navigation and maps is Google. Sorry Apple.
And today, Google has given we iOS users a gift and updated its Maps application for iOS with several new features that make the app a bit more “personal.” The biggest change is in search, which now integrates with your Google contacts. Once you sign in to your Google account with Google Maps, the app will pull in the names and addresses from your contacts. These addresses will appear when you search for your friends or family members by name.
Google also added a new local feature that lets you search for nearby businesses by selecting categories such as restaurants, bars, gas stations and more. There’s also a new setting that lets you toggle between kilometers or miles. You can also leave that on automatic and it will choose for you depending on where you are.
Get the latest version of Google Maps for iOS in iTunes.
