Google has updated its Google Maps app for Android devices with new tab-based tools meant to help access real-time information with a single tap.
Moving forward, three tabs appear at the bottom of Maps’ home screen: places, driving, and transit. The places tab will reveal a set of curated, nearby locations such as diners, coffee shops, ATMs, gas stations, and other such destinations.
The driving tab will provide real-time ETA data between home and work, with traffic alerts when in driving mode. Last, the transit tab will make it easier to discover bus/train schedules, see when the next arrives, and get ETA data for arrival times.
Google Maps has long offered these functions, but they were not always available directly on the home screen. Moving them to dedicated spaces that can be opened with one press should help make them more accessible and, Google hopes, more useful. T
he new tabbed version of Google Maps is rolling out to Android devices starting today.