Google Maps has struggled to stay relevant in a Covid-19 world, when lockdowns make street navigation misguided or even illegal, and when businesses open, close or change business hours faster than the big G can't. can be updated. Well, it looks like Maps is trying to fix that. In a blog post titled 'Google Maps Holiday Updates', the team behind Google Maps details several major additions to the app that will roll out 'in the coming weeks' (as of November 17). Three of the four big new features to come seem to be designed for Covid care, keeping those on lockdown and those who aren't sane. The fourth feature, which has only been rolled out in the US, is a driving mode for the Google Assistant to help you use multiple phone features without taking your eyes off the road.
Covid-19 characteristics
The first of the new features coming to Google Maps is the switch to the ``Covid Layer,'' which currently tells you the rise in Covid cases on a country-by-country or state-by-state basis in the United States. Apparently, this layer will soon include "all-time detected cases in an area," not just current trends for a location. In theory, this layer prevents you from visiting areas with high infection rates, but since an "area" in the layer is an entire country, this isn't too specific. Next is live delivery and delivery status, which will come in handy for people in lockdown who are dependent on delicacies being delivered. This mode allows you to order takeout and track its status. This feature is only available in a few countries like the US, India, Brazil, and Germany, but this mode will also allow you to reserve restaurant seats in many other countries (if you are allowed to eat at the restaurant). Finally, there's Crowdedness Live Transit, which tells you how busy a bus or train is in real time. This builds on a pre-existing Google Maps feature that predicted a line's occupancy rate based on its average popularity, but now the information should be live. This will help people who want to avoid crowded cars or buses as they can plan for emptier options.