Thursday, November 14, 2024

Google Maps moves the weather for a slightly cleaner map [U]

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Earlier this year, Google Maps started showing the weather in the top-left corner, but that’s now being moved to another part of the Android app.

Update 11/11: This weather change is rolling out to the stable channel with version 11.153.x of Google Maps for Android. We’re not seeing this on iOS yet.

Before this move, Google Maps also switched to a bottom sheet when opening the weather. You can have it docked to the bottom of your screen as you browse the map.


Original 10/17: Instead of appearing over the map layer, Google is moving the rectangular weather widget to the “Latest in the area” — named after the current city, neighborhood, or attraction —  sheet that slides up from the bottom. 

When fully expanded, it appears in the top-right corner, but is otherwise in the bottom-right when the sheet is peeking above the bottom bar, which happens when you interact with the map layer. That bottom card expands further if you tap on the Explore tab, while you can completely dismiss the sheet by swiping the drag handle down. 

This change has the benefit of making the map layer ever so slightly less cluttered. It follows Google simplifying the bottom bar from five tabs to just three.

Old vs. new

The change is unfortunate if you like to quickly see the temperature, condition, and AQI as you explore the map as the viewable area slightly shrinks.

This change to the weather in Google Maps is currently appearing in the beta channel (version 11.151.x), but is not yet live on stable.

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