Google Maps to start showing traffic lights on Android in US
Google Maps will start showing traffic lights on streets and intersections in the United States, according to reports, adding to its bundle of advanced services
Google Maps will start showing traffic lights on streets and intersections in the United States, according to reports, adding to its bundle of advanced navigation services to users. Google has been experimenting with marking intersections with traffic lights for a few months now, but now, the feature is getting a wide rollout.
Google Maps traffic light support is just a small, static marker in the middle of an intersection indicating that there is a traffic light there. The user has to zoom in really close to see the traffic lights, but if the zoom in far enough, the the lights can be spotted on Android, iOS, and the Web. As always the map features are going to depend on Google's data set, and right now its only seeing those in the US. They show up when browsing the map or navigating.
For now, it does not seem like Google has a use for the traffic lights other than displaying them on a map. It would be great if navigation could shout out "turn left at the next light" for verbal directions, but that's not happening yet. The state-of-the-art for traffic light navigation can be found in some Audis that, through a subscription service, can pull in live traffic light countdown data and can tell you how fast to go to make the next light.
Like many Google Maps features, traffic light data is enabled through Google servers, so there's no specific version of Google Maps we can point to that has it. If you don't have it yet, just keep waiting. The company has not yet revealed as to when this feature will be availabe in other countries.
Interestingly, Apple is offering the same feature in Apple Maps since the launch of iOS 13. Moreover, Siri can also use the traffic lights as directions.
(With inputs from agencies)
Published By : Digital Desk
Published On: 1 September 2020 at 15:50 IST