Google Maps Warns You About Crowded Areas With Updated 'Busyness' Feature
Google today announced the launch of new iOS Google Maps features aimed at helping holiday shoppers, including Area Busyness and Directories.
With Area Busyness, Google combines the busyness trends of businesses and locations that are near each other to let you know when a neighborhood or a part of town is at its busiest. Google says that this feature can help you identify busy areas to avoid, or highlight the hot spots when you're new to an area. Google says Area Busyness will roll out "in time for this holiday season."
Google is adding Directories, a feature designed to make it easier for people to navigate malls, airports, and transit stations. The Directory tab will allow users to see what types of stores are in a building and find airport lounges, parking lots, and more, along with helpful information such as whether a location is open, it's rating, and what floor it's on. This kind of indoor mapping functionality is already available in many shopping malls and airports in the Apple Maps app.
Google is also expanding its integrated grocery store pickup feature, which allows pickup orders from Kroger, Fred Meyer, Fry's, Ralphs, and Marianos to be added to Google Maps for tracking order status and allowing stores to know when you've arrived.
For restaurants, Google is adding price ranges supplied by other Google Maps users to give people a better idea of what a location charges for food, plus there's a simplified method for providing additional review details about a location you've visited.
Popular Stories
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models will feature a number of significant display, thermal, and battery improvements, according to new late-stage rumors.
According to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital," the iPhone 17 Pro models will feature displays with higher brightness, making it more suitable for use in direct sunlight for prolonged periods. The iPhone 16 Pro and...
Just one week before Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series, an analyst has shared new price estimates for the devices.
Here are J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee's price estimates for the iPhone 17 series in the United States, according to 9to5Mac:
Model
Starting Price
Model
Starting Price
Change
iPhone 16
$799
iPhone 17
...
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series on Tuesday, September 9, and last-minute rumors about the devices continue to surface.
The latest info comes from a leaker known as Majin Bu, who has shared alleged images of Apple's Clear Case for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, or at least replicas.
Image Credit: @MajinBuOfficial
The images show three alleged changes compared to Apple's iP...
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series this month, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive.
If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming to...
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall.
At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
We're only days away from Apple's "Awe dropping" fall event scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 9 – and along with the new iPhone 17 series, we're going to get a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra for the first time since 2023.
By the time the Ultra 3 is unveiled, it will have been two years since the previous model arrived. The intervening period has left plenty of room for...
