Google Maps redesigns the Explore nearby section and its icon
During the last few days, users of the applications of GoogleYou will have noticed a greater influx of updates And the fact is that the company is determined to change and improve some issues. Something that it does periodically, but that now makes even more sense after the last big change it has carried out: the one in its logo Among these updates, the one of the application Google Maps, which has introduced interesting changes to enhance its function when it comes to finding interesting places near the user's location.
Thus, and although is not yet available in Spain, the section Explore near ti, which until now was found in a drop-down menu on the main screen, changeschanges its style and operation Firstly by its design, which is updated following the model of cards already classic of Google A change that seeks functionality and a cleaner and more legible style by distributing all the information on large flyers with the premises close to the current location, businesses of interest and other details. Cards that are now larger and that match the Material Design concept that Google is has made an effort to bring to every corner of its applications and services. A minimalist and functional design that is only the tip of the iceberg in this update.
What's really newsworthy is the new functioning of this section. And it is that Google now seeks to be not just an application for consultation of maps, directions and routes , but to improve your experience to recommend places and establishments that match the mood and needs of the user. Something that, at the moment, machines cannot do, which is why Google has begun to “cure” (a verb that is difficult to translate from the expression in Englishcurated content) your content. Or what is the same, there are people in the creation of recommended content, creating reviews, articles and recommendations beyond the ratings of other users or distance to which the user is located.
In this way Google wants to offer added value to its maps application, serving as it did in its heydays Foursquare, or as it still does YelpAnd precisely for this reason this function is not yet available in Spain, being for now some cities in USA and Englandthose that have recommendations created by experts to find a charming, familiar place to dine, with a certain type of food, with special hours to enjoy a night at the theater, etc.
Just display this renovated menu and find all kinds of selections made regarding concepts and needs human that a machine could not collect. Once inside a category and a specific place, all that remains is to consult all the usual details such as its rating, its price, its description, its location, its hours, or even its menuAll this while being able to find a card with more related recommendations or other recommended content.
Along with all this, Spanish users will appreciate one more change: the application icon. Thus, Google sets aside the stylish lowercase G that accompanied this application for its simple G unadorned and capital type in the upper left corner. A detail that more than one can catch unexpectedly and that has its raison d'être in the recent change of the company's logo.
