Google On An Update Spree: Android Phone App And Maps Overhauled

Google seems to be on a spree roll: the search engine giant has been updating its apps from back to back. The latest apps to get updated are Google Maps and the Android Phone app. Both apps have received an active feature with the newest updates.

The Android Phone app update brings upon a spam caller detection feature on board. Though, it is currently limited to Android One and Nexus, with a prerequisite of both of them running Android 7.0 Marshmallow. It also notifies the user so that they can decide to block or report the caller to avoid future calls of the caller.

Nexus’s official Google+ handle posted,“Today, we’re beginning to update your Google Phone app with spam protection on #Nexus and #AndroidOne devices to warn you about potential spam callers and give you the ability to block and report these numbers. If you already have Caller ID turned on, spam protection will be available on your phone once your app updates to the latest version.”

The spam call detection feature also comes enabled on the app by default. The User is also allowed to check old calls as spam under “Recent calls” section.

The Google Maps update also brings “areas of interest” feature on board

Google also rolled out an update for its Maps app that brings a new look to the interface. This feature also comes to both the Desktop apps for Google Maps and Mobile. The new look is pretty cool and brings “areas of interest” feature on board. The feature also brings new orange spots layout to the app, which indicates places like bars, restaurants, lounges, cafes, and many more.

To explain the “areas of interest” feature, Google said in its blog post,“The world is full of information, which means highlighting necessary info on the map without overcrowding it is a balancing act. So as part of this update, we’ve removed elements that aren’t required (like road outlines). The result is a cleaner look that makes it easier to see helpful and actionable information like traffic and transit. And 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.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vimAfuKGJ0

For you to use the “areas of interest” feature, all you need to do is launch the Google Maps app and navigate around you. Once you spot an orange dot, zoom in to get more details about the venue and tap again to get added information. This new feature will help in terms of finding a happening place in town to hang out around in your area. The update also brings upon color identification on-board, which helps users in identifying Colleges, Hospitals, and many more.