Google is adding some massive new features to Google Maps, the biggest being the addition of augmented reality directions to help with walking directions. If you’re trying to follow a set of directions, you can now hold your phone up, and Google Maps will match the view from your camera to the saved Street View imagery of the world. Street View can label things in the real world using your camera, and show you an overlay to let you know which way to go.
The company didn’t say when the augmented reality features will come to the Google Maps app, but it did hint that it might even include a cute robotic fox to act as your virtual guide.
Google Maps ratings and the Explore tab have rapidly become one of the best ways to find places to eat and drink, but until today, ratings have been generic. It doesn’t matter if a Chinese restaurant has a 4.9-star rating if you only like pizza, and that’s the problem that Google is trying to solve with a new “For You” tab.
The Maps app is adding a new “For You” tab along the bottom, which will contain news about newly-opened locations near you, a “trending” locations section, and offers and updates from your favorite businesses. In addition, recommendations are now being personalized based on your past likes and recommendations, making a Netflix-esque taste system for real-world stuff.
