Maps 7.0.2

[divinebovine]

I tried the latest update (I always do), but the area it would let me download for offline use was a fraction of the size of what Maps 6 does. As I travel internationally, and data roaming is still the last big rip-off standing, this is a real loss of functionality to me, so once again I reverted.

The surprising thing is how narrow Google's thinking is. I can understand that their business is ads, so they want you to use online so they can serve up to date ads and points of interest. But these things don't change that quickly, and most people don't have unlimited data and ubiquitous coverage. So the time limit for offline maps is already shorter than is reasonable, but reducing the area limit too? It's clear that these people never actually leave the Bay Area, and don't give serious thought to the range of user requirements for a company with a global customer base.

Sorry, it's late and I'm pissed-off with pointless reduction of functionality.

Have you tried any of the offline navigation apps? Discussions in these threads:
http://androidforums.com/android-applications/737097-navigation-whilst-offline.html
http://androidforums.com/android-applications/735639-offline-maps-user-created-locations.html
http://androidforums.com/android-applications/739889-north-america-navitgation-app.html#post6008211

 

[Harry2]

He's talking about the old My Places. Those have not been re-implemented yet.

The starred locations of the old My Places should be found by using the person icon in Maps.
It isn't named My Places any more, but I find my starred locations of the former My Places in the new 'Nearby saved places' and 'Recently saved places'.
Old wine in new bottles

Harry

 

[Hadron]

Have you tried any of the offline navigation apps? Discussions in these threads:
http://androidforums.com/android-applications/737097-navigation-whilst-offline.html
http://androidforums.com/android-applications/735639-offline-maps-user-created-locations.html
http://androidforums.com/android-applications/739889-north-america-navitgation-app.html#post6008211

I have a copy of Osmand - well featured but I prefer Maps for usability.

 

[ozzy78]

Never have I felt quite so disillusioned with Google as I do right now. Worst app 'update' I think I've ever seen just in terms of lost functions.

Yes you can download a map but only 1, and it's much smaller.
Yes starred places are still there but only ones attached to an address listed with Google Maps

But.....

There's seemingly no navigation to contacts from outside of the Maps app
No separate Navigation app with quick links to get home or to recent places etc
No 'labs' features - I mean, what use is a map without even a scale???
No option to add businesses etc from Maps as a contact, now have to do it manually??
Harder to select alternate route while navigating - now have to exit the route & start again??
No layers
No access to My Maps
No search while navigating
New road colours quite confusing - Motorways not as distinct
No multitasking as it seems to crash when you leave it
No 'traffic light' overview or very handy widgets for set routes
No function for the Menu button all Android phones have?????

And these are just the things that I'm missing or have noticed. Basically it just feels very, very rushed and almost like we're being pushed to an iPhone way of doing things. Newsflash, If I wanted that I'd be on iOS.... I do actually really like the new look but not at the expense of everything above.

I hope they fix it but I'm not holding my breath. Really quite embarrassed that someone at Google signed this off....

 

[ThatOneRearEnd]

Went back to 6.14.4... The lack of coordinate-support out of WhatsApp really sucks big times...

 

[OstrichSaK]

Anyone else have an issue with this update where it sets your selected keyboard to the default Android keyboard? I use Smart Keyboard Pro & when I opened Maps after the update & clicked the search field to enter a name the default keyboard came up & when I accessed the keyboard selector via the pull down it wasn't even an option. It wasn't until I exited Maps & went into another app that had a text field was I able to see my usual keyboard as an option in the pull down. Weird.

 

[SkyJackpot]

The starred locations of the old My Places should be found by using the person icon in Maps.
It isn't named My Places any more, but I find my starred locations of the former My Places in the new 'Nearby saved places' and 'Recently saved places'.
Old wine in new bottles

Harry

You're mistaken or you have less than 7 starred favorites, in which case people who have less than 7 starred favorites will see all of them when they click on "recently saved places" & then click on "view all", otherwise if you have more than 7 starred favorites you will only see 7 starred favorites and the rest of them will seem to have vanished when you click the "view all" button.

If you're telling me that this isn't the case if you've even tried then I will believe you, otherwise I would like you to see that this isn't an acceptable implementation of the starred favorites as we used to know it. I've tried every button press when viewing the "view all" screen to see if the rest of the starred favorites other than 7 of them show up, and I'm guessing that you won't be able to tell me how to view all of them as the functionality isn't there, unless the unlikely situation has occurred where code is injected which allows different phones or Android operating systems to see the complete list and others can't.

As for the "nearby saved places", a copy and paste of one of my earlier posts will be easier

The side menu offering is far and away from a list of starred favorites.

The side menu offering on 7.0.2 gives you the opportunity to only see a small selection of your favorites based on whether you are near to them or not, "nearby saved places", anyone wanting to plan a trip to these places for business or pleasure when they're not near them will be out of luck.

The picture I've attached shows you the 2 "saved places" based on my location, whereas the old version of maps shows every little star on the Map screen, a feature which also isn't available on the newer "uodate". I updated to 7.0.2 saw no starred favorites on the map screen, used Titanium Backup to roll back to the old version, magically saw all starred favorites on the map screen again.

 

[athegn]

"...and most people don't have unlimited data and ubiquitous coverage..."

This is very true; smartphones are dumbphones without a connection.

I tend to go to a lot of places with no or little connection so appreciate offline use. If I have GPS, which I mostly have, then, say, "My Tracks" can be used. Then I can use "My Maps" next time.

 

[Harry2]

You're mistaken or you have less than 7 starred favorites ...

I find thirty-one starred places at "Recently saved places" when I click on "view all" ... and that on my HTC phone and on my Sony tablet which have both Google Maps 7.0.2

On my other HTC phone with the old Google Maps (6.14.4) I find the same number of starred places at "My Places" (all places were starred with the old version of Maps some time ago), so I haven't lost any starred places.

That you and others lost your starred places of My Places might be the same strange Google thing as the vanished blue Navigation icon. I've lost mine ... maybe you haven't, have you ?

Update: An afterthought might solve this mystery
I've shared all these starred places.
I know this for sure because I've shared all these starred places with an app which let my edit the name of a starred location and let me save it on the app's own database.

So, Google might haven't deleted starred places which were been shared

Harry

 

[SkyJackpot]

I find thirty-one starred places at "Recently saved places" when I click on "view all" ... and that on my HTC phone and on my Sony tablet which have both Google Maps 7.0.2

On my other HTC phone with the old Google Maps (6.14.4) I find the same number of starred places at "My Places" (all places were starred with the old version of Maps some time ago), so I haven't lost any starred places.

That you and others lost your starred places of My Places might be the same strange Google thing as the vanished blue Navigation icon. I've lost mine ... maybe you haven't, have you ?

Update: An afterthought might solve this mystery
I've shared all these starred places.
I know this for sure because I've shared all these starred places with an app which let my edit the name of a starred location and let me save it on the app's own database.

So, Google might haven't deleted starred places which were been shared

Harry

What I'm suggesting is the "recently saved places" isn't a workaround to seeing all of your saved places, especially if you haven't "recently" looked or viewed them for some time which the Google servers or Maps.apk deems them not recent anymore.

This is in keeping with the wording of this section of the side bar which specify "recently saved places" only and why me and many of the Google Play comments cannot see them and so equals reduced functionality.

As you've shared then you're fortunate to have them appear in your "recently saved places" category.

There needs to be a section titles "Saved Places" which doesn't put any restriction or conditions on the viewing of your "saved places" and allows you unfiltered access to see all of them at once. This section doesn't exist and so many people will continue to be unaware of where there starred favorites have gone.

If they then include an "all saved places" section people will then have the unenviable task of scrolling through the whole list of items until they reach their desired favorite, which depending on how many favorites you have, is a test in patience compared to the map level star icons.

 

[SkyJackpot]

That you and others lost your starred places of My Places might be the same strange Google thing as the vanished blue Navigation icon. I've lost mine ... maybe you haven't, have you ?

I still have my Navigation blue icon after using Titanium Backup to recheck that i haven't missed something when I upgraded to 7.0.2, and to also check if any server changes were implement enter to allow the starred favorites to appear on the map but nothing.

I will be recovering back to the Maps 6.14.2 backup in a second, but i think this update is very nice for people who don't use much of the features, maybe tourists. It has some nice eye candy with the sliding popUp message below the screen and it will give people a nice feeling because it's a new refresh. Let's just hope that tourists didn't dare to add a tourist map of London to their My Maps thinking it was going to be available on their phone when they arrived here.

 

[tommo47]

I'm staying with 7.0.2, for the time being at least. Having played around with it and read a few reviews eg:

What's Really New In Google Maps For Android 7.0? A Lot - Here's Our Massive (Unofficial) Changelog

Five tips for the new Google Maps on Android | How To - CNET , I'm beginning to rather like it.

Similar to Harry2, I have been able to find all my previous starred places in 'Recent searches' although some had been converted to lat/long co-ordinates which was a bit puzzling, but a few minutes spent re-visiting them and they were added to recent searches with the correct location details. I had edited a lot of my old starred places in Google Bookmarks and it is possible that those were the ones converted to lat/long.

I still have the blue navigation icon.

I do miss the 'measure distance' function, and have left feedback accordingly, but I don't miss it enough to go back to 6.

All in all I'm quite happy with it.

 

[Petrah]

I tried the latest update (I always do), but the area it would let me download for offline use was a fraction of the size of what Maps 6 does. As I travel internationally, and data roaming is still the last big rip-off standing, this is a real loss of functionality to me, so once again I reverted.

I read about an easter egg where you can type OK Maps in the search and it will save a larger section of the map (no idea where it saves to or how to get to it). Did you try this?

 

[Petrah]

i think this update is very nice for people who don't use much of the features, maybe tourists.

I use just about all of the features, and honestly have not had much problem with the update. I was able to find everything I was looking for on the same day that I got the update simply by playing with the app and tapping on everything to see what it did.

The only issue I see (which is a bug) is the turn by turn navigation. This ia a huge glaring problem that I hope gets fixed soon. Although it's not really an issue for me personally since I serve as the navigator (I don't drive) when Gabby (our built in GPS for the SUV, we call her Gabby because she never shuts up) is being stupid. Not paying several hundred bucks to have Mazda update the Google maps for the GPS. /rolls eyes

 

[SkyJackpot]

I use just about all of the features, and honestly have not had much problem with the update. I was able to find everything I was looking for on the same day that I got the update simply by playing with the app and tapping on everything to see what it did.

The only issue I see (which is a bug) is the turn by turn navigation. This ia a huge glaring problem that I hope gets fixed soon. Although it's not really an issue for me personally since I serve as the navigator (I don't drive) when Gabby (our built in GPS for the SUV, we call her Gabby because she never shuts up) is being stupid. Not paying several hundred bucks to have Mazda update the Google maps for the GPS. /rolls eyes

I do understand that you have no problem with it, and I guess if I was a different kind of person I wouldn't even advise anyone to not update to the latest version and I would carry on comfortably in the knowledge that I am rooted and I can have any Maps version I want and others who are missing functionality with the new update will have to deal without it.

I don't even know if you're aware of the Google Play reviews of this update but at this time it if you click on "all reviews" and choose most recent you will see almost all of the reviews have the same theme of missing functionality or usability or both in them. In fact I have never seen reviews for a Google Play application as consistently bad as this Maps 7 update.

Now this would inform me that the huge majority, especially when talking about starred favorites and My Maps, do not have this functionality included in this new Maps 7.0.2 update, and I believe they have the same reduction of functionality in which they would have to be near or have to have recently accessed these favorites to see some of them in the new update, which poses obvious problems if they need to be near a favorite to actually be able to see it.

As this is a forum where discussion and guidance among many other things happens I choose to use this information to give my advice based on the majority, and I really am glad that the update works for you but I really wished the functionality was included for the majority, as I feel Maps is one of the best and most convenient software products on offer for free and unfortunately people who aren't as technically inclined and still have auto update on or were using wifi and triggered the auto update are now missing some of the beauty of Android within Maps now.

Do you feel people should update based on your own experience or the people in the thread and Google Play reviews?

As I have said before I would only advise not to update if you use starred favorites or My Maps.

 

[BzB]

starred locations in version 7 do not show up as star icons on the actual map. yes they are still available in a different list, but that's still a retreat from the 'on map' visibility of all starred locations that was there earlier in version 6.

i don't want an update that i have to jump through hoops to get only part of the functionality that was there before. i'm glad the maps app is free because i had to pay for it i'd be really po'd.

 

[Petrah]

Do you feel people should update based on your own experience or the people in the thread and Google Play reviews?

As I have said before I would only advise not to update if you use starred favorites or My Maps.

I feel that people should take a few minutes and look for the features. The majority of them are still there, including the stared favorites (I have yellow stars all over my map).

Google did a poor job at replacing features and their locations.

 

[ThatOneRearEnd]

Coordinates don't work anymore... Tested it via WhatsApp and the new Maps told me it couldn't find the location shared. 6.14.4 worked flawlessly here.

Besides, Navigon told me I was in France, Italy or whatever... It was in the middle of nowhere but still Germany, though...
Stupid electronic piece of trash. Think I'll go back to old-school maps...

 

[funkylogik]

^ good luck folding the thing to put it back in your pocket

 

[divinebovine]

Do you feel people should update based on your own experience or the people in the thread and Google Play reviews?

...especially when you consider this glowing

review:

I use just about all of the features, and honestly have not had much problem with the update. I was able to find everything I was looking for on the same day that I got the update simply by playing with the app and tapping on everything to see what it did.

The only issue I see (which is a bug) is the turn by turn navigation. This ia a huge glaring problem that I hope gets fixed soon.

And this one:

I feel that people should take a few minutes and look for the features. The majority of them are still there, including the stared favorites (I have yellow stars all over my map).

Google did a poor job at replacing features and their locations.

So, from what I understand, the idea here is that it doesn't break too many things too badly. That's a good reason not to form a lynch mob; that's not a good reason to update to the latest version. What does it bring to the table that makes it worth abandoning the old version that is totally functional and not missing anything in favor of a new version that kinda doesn't break everything?

 

[Harry2]

Coordinates don't work anymore... Tested it via WhatsApp and the new Maps told me it couldn't find the location shared. 6.14.4 worked flawlessly here...

I think, WhatsApp doesn't interface Maps correctly ... other apps haven't problems with tranfering locations to Maps.

Harry

 

[vosg]

I think, WhatsApp doesn't interface Maps correctly ... other apps haven't problems with tranfering locations to Maps.

Harry

That's not entirely true. Ninja Poker also reports incorrect locations (France instead of Belgium) on my friend's Galaxy s2. I dont have his device at hand right now, but when I do I will revert his maps app to version 6 to see if that's the culprit.

To be continued...

 

[Petrah]

Officially report the bugs and make suggestions to the developers. Go back to the version that has options that work for you. As with any software, when they're able to iron out the bugs and release updates then you can update the app if you so desire.

If you don't report the bugs and make suggestions through official channels (ie; not the Play Store and not these forums), they cannot and will not fix it.

 

[ThatOneRearEnd]

^ good luck folding the thing to put it back in your pocket

At least I seem to be one of the last people alive that can read a road map correctly

they cannot

Considering other bugs in other apps, I'd say "cannot" or "will not" is most appropriate in these cases even if you submit them to these guys...

 

[divinebovine]

Officially report the bugs and make suggestions to the developers. Go back to the version that has options that work for you. As with any software, when they're able to iron out the bugs and release updates then you can update the app if you so desire.

If you don't report the bugs and make suggestions through official channels (ie; not the Play Store and not these forums), they cannot and will not fix it.

I totally agree with this, I am just wondering what new features they deliver that make it worth changing the status quo. I could go read the changelog but 1. I'm lazy and 2. it wouldn't help the discussion.