10 hidden Google Maps features

Google Maps has become an integral part of our lives. From getting directions to a famous coffee shop in a new city to sending your live location to your friends and family to keep them informed, Maps is no longer just a navigation app. There’s more to this application than meets the eye.

If you are new to Google Maps, here are ten features that will help you unlock the full potential of the world’s most popular maps app:

• 01 Gemini AI can now talk to Google Maps
  Google Maps recently got supercharged by generative AI capability via Gemini, where you can now start navigation to a specific location using just voice commands. The deeper integration between these two features enables seamless interaction between these two apps, making it easy to access Google Maps, especially while riding a bike.
• 02 Electric vehicle settings
  If you are an EV user, then locating a charging station has never been this easy. Just choose your charger type on Google Maps and search for “electric vehicle charging stations near me,” where Maps will highlight the nearby charging stations that are compatible with your electric vehicle, whether it’s a two, three, or even a four-wheeler.
• 03 Travel back in time
  With Google Maps, you can also travel back in time and look at how a place or location used to look a few years ago using the street view time travel feature. Do note that this feature is only available for select places and locations
• 04 Share live location with friends and family
  Using Google Maps, you can also share your live location with friends and family, a handy feature, especially when travelling to a new place. You can either share the live location for a specific period or forever, where you need to turn it off manually to stop sharing your location information. Do note that this feature will take a toll on your smartphone’s battery life.
• 05 Save your vehicle’s parked location
  While it is hard to find parking spots in most modern cities, remembering where we park our vehicles is also a hassle, especially if the neighbourhood looks similar. Using the Save Your Vehicle Parking location feature, you can mark the exact GPS location of your vehicle, which makes it easy to identify the location of the car/bike when you come back.
• 06 Get weather information
  You can now get real-time weather information of your location directly from the Maps app, including the air quality index. Google Maps now offers weather forecasts, making it easy for travellers to prepare accordingly.
• 07 Indoor live view
  Getting lost at an airport or a big mall is quite easy these days, and with the indoor live view, you will be able to easily navigate and look for that specific store or your boarding gate with ease. However, this feature is currently limited to just over 10,000 places and covers major airports and well-known malls and shopping complexes in countries like the US.
• 08 Offline navigation
  Google Maps also allows users to download the map of a specific city for easy navigation, and this is a lifesaver feature, especially if you plan on touring a new place where the network could be patchy. With offline maps, you can navigate in real-time without any issues.
• 09 Set your work and home location
  Travelling during peak hours is a burden, so you can use Google Maps to find the fastest routes with less traffic with just a click. Make sure to set your home and office address in the Maps app, where it will automatically select the best possible route when you leave home or the office.
• 10 Discover new places with AI
  Currently available for select users, the upcoming feature on Google Maps allows users to discover new places a lot easier. You can now ask Google Maps questions about new places to party, places to shop for home appliances or more, and Maps will offer an AI-generated summary to help you pick the best available option.