Google IO: Google Maps adding offline voice turn-by-turn navigation and more

sincity · May 28, 2015

Google Maps is bringing increased functionality and voice turn-by-turn direction to its offline Maps, as well as transit directions support to more cities.

To expand on its previous offline Maps experience, Google is making it easier to get where you're going without running up your data bill.

At the Google IO 2015 keynote, Google displayed several functions that its upgraded offline Maps will have, including voice turn-by-turn direction, search bar auto-complete, displaying hours of business, and even reviews for where you're headed.

Google also announced that its growing transit direction capability will be expanding to more cities, including Mexico City. Reportedly, Apple Maps is planning to catch up with Google by debuting its own transit directions. It may be an uphill battle for Apple, since its transit directions will be available in only six cities at launch, compared to Google's extensive coverage.

Google says that the new map features will be available "later this year".

More offline features

In the same vein, Google unveiled it's been tinkering with saving pages offline from within the Chrome browser for the user to read later. Sounds a bit like Pocket, to me.

Google also announced updates for "YouTube Offline", which allows users to save YouTube videos and watch them later, with or without a connection. Now, users can offline their favorite videos for up to 48 hours. This is currently available in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam; growing markets where a solid connection is hard to come by.