Photo: autoevolution
One of the biggest new features that made their debut in iOS 14 back in September 2020 was support for widgets, something that users have been drooling over for years and which is supposed to make the home screen overall feel a little bit more dynamic.
While the dynamic part is still entirely debatable, especially because Apple doesn’t allow users to interact with widgets in a different way than tapping them to launch the main app, this new feature has quickly become quite a popular option for everyone with an iPhone.
And this is why in the latest few months, more and more developers updated their apps to add support for iOS widgets.
This week, Google too joined this bandwagon and released widget support for Google Maps, therefore letting users interact with the app right from the home screen.
Version 5.74 is the one bringing iOS widgets, and as you can see in the screenshots here, users can choose from two different versions during the setup screen.
First and foremost, it’s the standard widget called “Know before you go,” and which determines your address to display things like traffic condition, store opening times, restaurant reviews, and everything else. As said, due to Apple’s widget restrictions, you can’t do anything else than tap the widget to launch Google Maps and see the displayed information on the entire screen.
Then, the second widget is called “Find places nearby,” and this time, it’s a larger design that allows you to search Google Maps, see the home or work locations, find restaurants and gas stations. But again, because the interaction options with widgets are very limited, tapping any of the displayed options, including the search box, automatically launches Google Maps on your iPhone.
Google says this is just “the first set of home screen widgets,” so most likely, the company plans to launch more of them in the coming updates.
The widgets certainly look cool, and for hardcore Google Maps users they probably come in handy too. A new version of iOS is due in September, so hopefully, Apple improves the widget interaction options to actually let us conduct a search or do more without leaving the home screen.
And this is why in the latest few months, more and more developers updated their apps to add support for iOS widgets.
This week, Google too joined this bandwagon and released widget support for Google Maps, therefore letting users interact with the app right from the home screen.
Version 5.74 is the one bringing iOS widgets, and as you can see in the screenshots here, users can choose from two different versions during the setup screen.
First and foremost, it’s the standard widget called “Know before you go,” and which determines your address to display things like traffic condition, store opening times, restaurant reviews, and everything else. As said, due to Apple’s widget restrictions, you can’t do anything else than tap the widget to launch Google Maps and see the displayed information on the entire screen.
Then, the second widget is called “Find places nearby,” and this time, it’s a larger design that allows you to search Google Maps, see the home or work locations, find restaurants and gas stations. But again, because the interaction options with widgets are very limited, tapping any of the displayed options, including the search box, automatically launches Google Maps on your iPhone.
Google says this is just “the first set of home screen widgets,” so most likely, the company plans to launch more of them in the coming updates.
The widgets certainly look cool, and for hardcore Google Maps users they probably come in handy too. A new version of iOS is due in September, so hopefully, Apple improves the widget interaction options to actually let us conduct a search or do more without leaving the home screen.
Google News