Meanwhile, Waze has been updated to let drivers report road incidents via voice through a new ‘Conversational Reporting’ feature.
Google Maps is looking to address a common frustration for drivers: The app’s habit of offering last-minute lane guidance on highways.
An updated version now tells users which driving lanes to use throughout the whole journey rather than only doing so every time the car approaches the next turn, merge, or exit.
The so-called “enhanced navigation” feature is slated to roll out for 30 metro areas across the US over the next month. On Tuesday, the company demoed the feature to journalists as part of a suite of Google Map changes intended to relieve user stress while driving with the app.
“If it’s an unfamiliar destination and if I’m on a route that has a lot of lanes, forks, and exits —maybe it’s a dense urban area, and I have to navigate a lot of traffic— I’ll get a little stressed out,” said Miriam Daniel, VP and General Manager for Google Maps. “And unfamiliar drives these days have become really complex.”
To reduce anxiety, Google Maps will show a blue route, indicating which lanes you’ll need to take for the entire journey if you’re in one of the 30 metro areas.
