- Google Maps users in several countries are reporting the rollout of a highly-anticipated feature, the speed limit indicator.
- The feature was first released last year, but not all markets where Google Maps is available got it.
- Google has started quietly updating Maps in several countries in Europe and India, making the speed limit icon visible inside the app.
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As great as Google Maps might be, not all users get to take advantage of the app’s brand new features at the same time, as these updates are rolled out gradually to more and more people. The Android version of Maps is always guaranteed to get the latest Maps updates first, and some of the new features might actually never make it to the iPhone. But even if you’re on Android, you might not necessarily be able to experience some of the latest Google Maps innovations when they’re announced. That goes for a feature that you’ve been waiting for Google to include in Maps for years, a feature that started rolling out in 2019 to users in some countries: The speed limit indicator.
While most navigation apps feature a speed limit indicator on the screen, Google Maps only got its speed limit icon last year. The indicator gives you a little nudge if you’re going over the speed limit, and is definitely the kind of feature that can improve safety while driving. The feature has been available on other nav apps as well as Waze, Google’s other popular navigation feature, long before being ported over to Maps.
I have been waiting for this for so long. @Google finally added a speed limit to #googlemaps pic.twitter.com/3xCuGC4zAo
— Jan Vasary (@thatguyvasary) February 11, 2020
Google didn’t release the functionality in all markets last year, and it even pulled it in some regions after making it available to users. It’s unclear what prompted the removal in the first place, but Google has brought it back. Users in countries like the UK were the first to note that the feature was working again, Android Police reports, but other markets have also received it.
One missing piece had been added to @googlemaps in France for helping the navigation: the speed limit remainder!
Some glitches and errors, but great improvement!! pic.twitter.com/LMs2NJaXX3
— blaquiere guillaume (@gblaquiere) March 10, 2020
Google Maps users in Denmark, France, India, Ireland, Netherlands, and Scotland have seen the speed limit indicator appear on the navigation screen, with reports popping up on Twitter showing screenshots of it in action, as seen above. The speed limit indicator will appear in the lower-left corner on the Google Maps screen on all phones, and it’ll show a red ring around the speed limit when you’ve gone over the posted speed limit.
All you have to do to get the speed limit warnings is run the latest Google Maps version. Once the feature is ready for your country, Google will make it available to all Maps users. If the feature is not available in your market, you should keep waiting. It’s likely that speed limit indicators will roll out to all Google Maps users soon.