Most commentators were pretty excited by the improvements made to Google Maps for Android 8.0. Having spent over 13 hours with the update this weekend on a 700+ mile trip I can say that this update is nothing short of extraordinary. The biggest reason for my enthusiasm is a feature that appears to be unadvertised.
While not the focus on my blog post, the lane guidance feature is truly unreal. I was expecting lane guidance on major freeways in major cities. What we got instead is lane guidance on local roads in small to midsize towns. Outstanding!
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| Lane guidance on local roads! |
Now, on to the good stuff....
I am convinced that Google Maps for Android now includes traffic rerouting technology from Waze!
In previous versions, Google Maps included the ability to show multiple routes and to reroute if a quicker route was available (apparently with a 5 minute threshold). In my experience with this however was that this was not a very granule feature. Before a route was offered as an option the alternative route seemed to have to differ from the original by a fairly significant minimum "threshold percentage" before it was offered as an alternative. On long trips of several hundred miles, that meant that very small route diversions were never offered because the diversion was too statistically similar to the original route.
Something appears to have changed in version 8. My suspicion is that Google has included some Waze technology into their traffic rerouting algorithm. Before we get to the reason for my suspicion let's look at the significant change in how Google handles traffic and route options in the new version.
First, Google now displays live traffic conditions on the main map while navigating. That is a huge, welcome change in my opinion.
Second, multiple route options are both automatically displayed and manually available on the main map screen. From my experience this weekend these route options do not appear to be static in any way. They appear to be very dynamic route options, constantly reevaluated using the latest traffic information and also route progress. As you get closer to your destination the available route options are made more granular as you progress.
Here is a graphic that shows the automatic route options that are displayed on the map as you drive. As traffic conditions change, as you approach an optional route, you'll see right on the map what your options are. Faster options are displayed as are options that are slower. If you like a presented option you simply click on the banner that says "faster" or "slower."
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| Alternative routes offered in a local situation |
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| Alternative route offered in a citywide routing situation |
The same route options are available in more of an overview perspective by clicking the route button on the map. This allows you to see the route options at your leisure and not wait until you are close upon the maneuver for the automatic display of the option on the map screen.
One huge downside right now is that Google provides no audible alert that a faster route option is being presented. You just have to watch the map. I hope that changes quickly.
Now, on to the reason why I think version 8 includes some Waze technology....I was on a route from Des Moines to Chicago this weekend. That is 300+ miles and there really isn't much of any route choice. I-80 in Iowa is pretty much it. Prior versions of Google Maps would show you options but they were pretty nonsensical such as using US-30 for example. Slower traffic on I-80 usually meant waiting it out on I-80 because the alternative route such as US-30 is so far out of the way.
On this trip, only about 60 miles into the trip I received a Google Now notification of a Waze-reported accident on I-80. Upon reviewing Google Maps, I was now being shown a 12 mile detour off of I-80 onto county roads, starting before the freeway backup and putting me back on I-80 at the first entrance ramp after the wreck. The detour was 7 minutes faster than sitting in the I-80 traffic.
I've experienced these types of slow downs on I-80 before and I've never had Google Maps offer such a small detour like this. In the past it seemed that these kinds of small detours were not statistically different enough from the original route to he offered by Google.
It seems that now we finally have a real and useful tool to navigate real world traffic problems and my bet is that Google is using technology from Waze to get it accomplished.
