We’ve all been there. You’re on a road trip and get off the highway to get gas or food. After a while, Google Maps barks at you to get back on the road. Even though the company has a lot of cash and AI chips, the app still won’t let you stop when you need to.
Somewhere in my brain, I thought that Wednesday, when Google said it was adding two new features to Maps, this would finally be the day that this problem would be solved.
Google did not announce either of the features that would allow you to stop navigation in the middle of a trip. It is now easy for the company to report things like construction, closed lanes, and police presence. It will also make the location, building entrance, and nearby parking lots stand out more, which should help people who aren’t familiar with the area. Good job!
However, in the case I just talked about, one could leave navigation and come back to it after getting the food or fuel. In fact, I got this exact answer from Google’s “AI Overview” when I looked for cases of other people pleading with the company to add a pause button to the Maps app. The last suggestion from Google’s own help community is to add the rest stop as a “waypoint” to the trip so that the app doesn’t keep changing the route. People who already drive a car will have even more work to do and think about.
Parhlo World asked Google about this and they said that tracking will stop automatically if the stop has already been added as a “waypoint” to the trip. But if you decide to stop for no reason, the company also says to end the trip and start it again when you’re done with the delay.
It’s been years since anyone asked Google for this feature, so I know I’m not the only one. Also, to be fair, Apple Maps doesn’t have this either. The other top choice, Waze, which is also owned by Google, doesn’t either.
This is Silicon Valley, the place where money is burned to get rid of friction. Why is this one example of lack of ease allowed to stay around when the tech industry has helped make everything else easier?
Also Read: Apple Maps Comes Out on the Web to Compete With Google Maps
Google’s suggestions for other ways to handle stops in the middle of a trip have been added.
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