Google has just announced a new feature for Google Maps, which is all about exploring new places around you.
The new explore feature will show up in Google Maps in the form of an ‘Explore button’ when the option is available. The new explore option is time, as well as location aware, so you’ll get great dinner recommendations as the sun goes down, while in the morning more breakfast oriented options will present.
With ‘nearby’ a relative term, Google has advised that they will be letting you decide what you class as nearby, be that a five-minute walk or a 20-minute drive. The explore options offered are also weather dependent as well, so when it’s pouring rain, you shouldn’t be offered results which include a trip to a nearby park.
On the Google Lat-Long blog, where Google announced the new feature, they term the update as ‘where available’, so it’s not definitely available to everyone just yet. There’s no updates for Google Maps showing up as yet, so it could be a server-side switch that Google has flicked. Google also says in the blog that the feature will appear ‘Starting this week’.
Have you seen an option to explore nearby?
