Google Maps now features ‘Areas Of Interest’ with cleaner aesthetic

Google Maps’ latest update now allows users to get a more up to date sense of what’s happening in their surrounding areas. It also brings a few UI improvements.

To achieve a cleaner look, the company has gone for a more subtle and balanced colour scheme and removed unwanted elements like road outlines. The new look, according to the company, allows users to see helpful and actionable information like traffic and transit a lot clearer.

“We’ve improved the typography of street names, points of interest, transit stations, and more to make them more distinguishable from other things on the map, helping you navigate the world with fewer distractions,” the company said.

Beyond this though, the company’s new Areas of Interest feature is the most exciting.

Google says it uses algorithms to determine areas of interest but it will at times use human editors to highlight restaurants, coffee shops, cinemas, malls etc in a city.

“The world is full of information, which means highlighting necessary info on the map without overcrowding it is a balancing act,” Google said in a blog post.

Areas of interest, as Google has dubbed it, are places with increase activity and possible points of interest, like a cluster of restaurants, bars and/or shops. To access Areas of interest, users will have to log in to Google Maps and zoom in an orange area and tap to get more information.