Andy Walker / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Maps has been slowly working on a new sheets-first implementation of its interface.
- Last year that got started with Explore as a sheet, keeping the main map view visible underneath.
- Now that same look has extended to the You and Contribute screens.
Last year, Google started working on a new approach to its interface for Maps. The change might feel a little subtle at first, but it actually seems pretty smart; basically, Google has been redesigning the Maps UI so that more app elements appear as sheets that still keep the primary map view open in the background, rather than opening full-screen themselves. Last summer we saw this change come to the Explore tab in Maps on Android, and now it’s expanding even further.
The crew over at 9to5Google first made us aware of this change, and we can confirm that we’re already seeing this on our own Android devices, as well, running Google Maps 25.16.06.
Now, in addition to Explore, the You and Contribute buttons at the bottom of the screen similarly launch as sheets when tapped. You have the ability to drag them up to expand, either filling the majority of the screen or taking up just the bottom half. Either way, though, we get the same effect we did when this was initially just available for Explore: Google Maps feels like it’s more about the actual map.
Everything in the app should still be showing up where you’re used to seeing it — just now implemented on these floating sheets that live above the map itself. Considering how relatively simple of a change this feels, and how Google already got the ball rolling on this redesign the better part of a year ago, we’re a little curious what made it take quite this long to finally get the rest of the app’s UI matching, but now that it’s here we’re just happy to have it.
What do you think of the new look for Maps? Did you even notice the change? Let us know in the comments.
