Maps have been created for the convenience of the user, to help them find their way, and to find a certain point of interest. More often than not, people will use their mobile devices to open a map, whether it’s for navigation or for searching up places. With the great amount of mobile map usage, it’s important that the maps are mobile-optimized. This is something that Google as well keeps a focus on and recently, the tech-giant announced the release of two new updates: a new Maps SDK for Android and the extension of Cloud-based maps styling features to Android and iOS SDKs.
By updating your Maps SDKs for Android, you can deliver an enhanced map experience to your app users. The new v.18.0.0 update includes a new renderer which helps to reduce network load, on-device processing, as well as memory consumption. This means that the end-user will get to experience a more stable and smoother map, while Google has also made improvements with map labels and panning and zooming.
Earlier this year, Google announced that Cloud-based map styling for Javascript would be up for general availability. These map styling features were widely used by customers, and Google has now extended the Cloud-based maps styling features to be supported in the GA versions in its Maps SDK for Android and iOS. With cloud-based maps styling, customers can easily modify and use new features or test new configurations. With the features supported in the Maps SDK for mobile, it’s easy to manage a single branded and optimized style across all platforms and devices, as well as publishing changes to a map style simultaneously.
Cloud-based map styling allows for new customization features including zoom level customization, POI filtering and boosting, and landmarks, and these tools now become available on Maps SDK for Android and iOS.
This is pretty cool news for the tech side of Google Maps and if you’re interested in hearing more about this, or how MapsPeople as a Google Premier Partner can help you achieve even better results, feel free to reach out to us today.
December 10, 2021
