Google Maps just fucking SUCKS now

[vdeane]

Why the fuck would you check the browser string to see if you can take away a feature?

Because it's an Apple product.

Not just Apple.  Vivaldi sends out a Chrome user agent everywhere instead of having its own because otherwise many sites (especially Google) would break otherwise.

[bm7]

It still puts me on roads I don't want to go on when I drag my line, then it doesn't let me erase them. I was trying to see how long it would take to drive from Spring Hill to a certain movie theater in Ocala via Inglis, and it forced me onto a side road between US 41 and FL 40 north of Rainbow Springs. Then it wouldn't let me delete that side road.

Was there a road closure? That's usually the cause of that in my experience.

[Rothman]

For the past few months, Google Maps has started assuming that if you searched for directions for a location that you've visited it, although it doesn't add it to your timeline.  Still, you get notifications to contribute a review of the places if you just idly consider a trip.

[jakeroot]

For the past few months, Google Maps has started assuming that if you searched for directions for a location that you've visited it, although it doesn't add it to your timeline.  Still, you get notifications to contribute a review of the places if you just idly consider a trip.

Yes, I've noticed this too. It's particularly confusing after a late night out, and the next day Maps asks if you want to contribute a review. But you're sure you didn't visit the place...but then you're also not sure since it was a "late night out".

Related minor issue: things are so tightly packed here in Japan, Maps isn't always sure of which place you visited. You'll spend an hour in one place, and the next day it asks you to review the place next door. Oops.

[vdeane]

Looks like Google is pushing Globe View again.  After a long while of it being off by default, now I randomly get it on by default again.  I think I prefer the instant street view that I get with it off (rather than the animation that happens with it on).

[CovalenceSTU]

Looks like Google Maps now includes the search term when you share a shortlink, which is a bit annoying as catching up on the forums now fills my recent search history.

[vdeane]

Looks like Google Maps now includes the search term when you share a shortlink, which is a bit annoying as catching up on the forums now fills my recent search history.

Stuff like that is why I browse Google Maps in incognito mode.

[Echostatic]

My default map view has completely changed. Now looks like this:



I checked in the layers menu to see if I had accidentally enabled some kind of new look, but nope; this is (seemingly) the actual look of the map now. Here's some more screenshots:





I guess the color orange went out of style.

In cities with the more detailed zoom view, this is the new look:



The old view remains in Google My Maps. For comparison:



My opinions closely align with the title of this thread.

EDIT: The new traffic view actually looks pretty nice... but overall this update is a clear downgrade.

[freebrickproductions]

Nothing's changed on my end, I'm guessing either it's just startin' to be rolled out, or they're doing A/B testing of it and your in the group that's getting to test the new design.

Personally, I don't hate it.

[CtrlAltDel]

It looks like a new thing they're doing to make it look a bit more like Apple Maps:

https://9to5google.com/2023/08/31/google-maps-new-colors/

[jakeroot]

Wow, this looks great. Well done, Google.

I'm not able to explore the new look on any of my devices, but I hope I get to soon. Looks like a great contrast improvement over the current design.

[pderocco]

I'm not seeing it either. But from those screen caps, it looks like they've made the small streets darker, to contrast better with the background. White streets with light gray borders against a very light gray background seems like a boneheaded design. I hope this shows up on the Android phone version, because I need the higher contrast while driving. But I wouldn't mind even higher contrast than this. Remember paper maps? Black lines against a white background? Worked pretty well.

[SectorZ]

In the new design, the light green shading for what I presume is forest is very haphazardly placed compared to reality, at least in my neck of the woods.

[StogieGuy7]

In the new design, the light green shading for what I presume is forest is very haphazardly placed compared to reality, at least in my neck of the woods.

That vegetation shading bears very little resemblance to reality. The "prairie peninsula" that extends from Illinois into NW Indiana is shown as the same sort of forest as the pine woods of the Carolina lowcountry. 

Meanwhile, the St. Louis area is depicted as being more open than central Illinois which, again, is a joke. So, I'm not sure what the cartographers at the Goog were thinking here. They have their vegetated areas all mixed up. Just use the hybrid mode and all this horribleness is forgotten. 

[GCrites]

Yeah it's like the amount of tree cover the U.S. had before the Mayflower.

[StogieGuy7]

Yeah it's like the amount of tree cover the U.S. had before the Mayflower.

But it's so wrong that we cannot even say that.  They have places like the I-80 corridor in Illinois (a place that is flat and wide open) with thicker vegetation than much of the southeast! It's not even a matter of color-coding gone awry or them depicting what no longer is.  No, the shading contour outlines are just wrong in a lot of areas. They don't resemble reality and seem decorative more than informative. 

[bm7]

Yeah it's like the amount of tree cover the U.S. had before the Mayflower.

But it's so wrong that we cannot even say that.  They have places like the I-80 corridor in Illinois (a place that is flat and wide open) with thicker vegetation than much of the southeast! It's not even a matter of color-coding gone awry or them depicting what no longer is.  No, the shading contour outlines are just wrong in a lot of areas. They don't resemble reality and seem decorative more than informative.

I wonder if it's just based on satellite imagery. The average farm field in Illinois is more green than those in southern Georgia, for instance.

[CtrlAltDel]

Yeah it's like the amount of tree cover the U.S. had before the Mayflower.

But it's so wrong that we cannot even say that.  They have places like the I-80 corridor in Illinois (a place that is flat and wide open) with thicker vegetation than much of the southeast! It's not even a matter of color-coding gone awry or them depicting what no longer is.  No, the shading contour outlines are just wrong in a lot of areas. They don't resemble reality and seem decorative more than informative.

I wonder if it's just based on satellite imagery. The average farm field in Illinois is more green than those in southern Georgia, for instance.

I believe it is, at least with respect to the orange design.

[thenetwork]

My default map view has completely changed. Now looks like this:



I checked in the layers menu to see if I had accidentally enabled some kind of new look, but nope; this is (seemingly) the actual look of the map now. Here's some more screenshots:





I guess the color orange went out of style.

In cities with the more detailed zoom view, this is the new look:



The old view remains in Google My Maps. For comparison:



My opinions closely align with the title of this thread.

EDIT: The new traffic view actually looks pretty nice... but overall this update is a clear downgrade.

Google Maps just switched over to the new look on my devices over the weekend...

[Amaury]

Roads are still yellow in satellite view, which is what I use; however, entrance/exit ramps, which were previously also yellow, now use a dark blue-gray. And this is for all ramps, whether from a city/town to freeway or freeway-to-freeway, such as the I-82 and I-84 interchange or I-82 and I-90 interchange.

[JoePCool14]

I have the new Google Maps style on my work computer this morning. I still wish mapping sites would provide the option for grayscale or using various colors for different roads. I don't like everything being a shade of gray. There isn't enough contrast between road types to my liking. I do like the improved contrast between road and background.

I will say that the new traffic colors look nice though.

[intelati49]

I have the new Google Maps style on my work computer this morning. I still wish mapping sites would provide the option for grayscale or using various colors for different roads. I don't like everything being a shade of gray. There isn't enough contrast between road types to my liking. I do like the improved contrast between road and background.

I will say that the new traffic colors look nice though.

I agree with the grayscale.

There's a way to fix the curmudgeons complaints though. Give them (us?) the options to fiddle with the colors. OSMAnd is my go to for browsing.

The routing options/traffic is just so useful, so I still use maps as my "GPS"

Was reading the Ars article from a week ago and was wondering the feel here.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1965118

[andrepoiy]

Mine has changed now

[kphoger]

But from those screen caps, it looks like they've made the small streets darker, to contrast better with the background. White streets with light gray borders against a very light gray background seems like a boneheaded design.

Agreed.  Worst part of the most recent iteration.  Looking forward to actually being able to see streets again.

[bm7]

It's very inconsistent as well. Some areas all of the roads are a readable width, but in others most of them are of the barely discernible 1 pixel wide variety.