Many of my colleagues at Android Police prefer open source alternatives, such as OsmAnd, to Google Maps.
I never tried a single one of them, nor did I use navigation apps other than Here Maps back in the day when I used Windows Phone.
I’m not proud of not trying enough rival navigation apps, but that’s mostly because I travel a lot less and because Google Maps is just that good.
My limited interaction with Google Maps over the years was also the reason I took more time to discover some of its hidden gems.
The ones that excited me the most were gestures. It felt like a serious discovery because you can’t see gestures on your screen, unlike every other feature on Google Maps.
They are easy to overlook for most people to ignore because of the visibility factor. Not each one of them is useful, but some of them are genuinely handy and can take the map experience to a whole new level.
Here are six brilliant Google Maps gestures most people overlook.
Double tap
Google Maps doesn’t have a button to let users zoom in or out. Instead, the navigation app has gestures, which are a better system when it comes to precision and control.
Google Maps supports multiple gestures for zooming, but the easiest one among them is the double-tap gesture.
The best part about it is that you don’t have to enable anything for this. All you do is double-tap on the location in the map view, and it’ll zoom into the area, showing nearby places.
This is better than zooming with a pinch gesture because you can use your thumb to double-tap. It allows for better one-handed usage.
I use this when I need to use a small-scale zoom on Google Maps while walking.
Two-finger tap
While a double-tap can zoom into places, you can use two fingers instead of one to zoom out quickly.
One is using the pinch gesture, but other than that, you can use a two-finger double-tap to zoom out.
This isn’t a replacement for the pinch gesture because it doesn’t allow you to zoom out by exactly the amount you want. A double with a single or two fingers performs only a fixed-step zoom in or out.
If you want a large-scale zoom out, double-tap with two fingers multiple times.
I rate this higher than the pinch gesture for safety reasons. Since you’ll need to use both hands to use a two-finger double-tap, the chances of your phone slipping out of your hands are less.
One-hand zoom
One-hand zoom is one of my favorite features in Google Maps. It gives you the same level of precision and control as the pinch gestures, but without compromising on your grip.
The way one-hand zoom works is pretty simple. All you do is double-tap and keep your thumb on the second tap, and then slide up to zoom out and slide down to zoom in.
I use this gesture instead of pinch when I need more control over zooming without losing my grip.
The one-handed zoom comes in handy when you are in a crowded place, walking, or driving. However, it might take some practice to develop muscle memory for this.
So, try it as much as you can, because if you don’t, you’ll unlikely be able to recall when you need it the most.
If you are already aware of this but haven’t used it, you are better off changing the habit.
Two-finger rotate
I don’t need this very often, but this is another excellent gesture in Google Maps that everyone should learn to quickly align the map view with their direction of travel.
The two-finger rotate gesture is easy to use. All you do is place two fingers anywhere on Google Maps and rotate them together clockwise or counterclockwise to change the orientation of the map.
Google Maps remembers the orientation when you quit the app and shows the same perspective when you reopen it.
However, don’t use the two-finger rotate gesture again to go back to the previous orientation. Instead, tap the compass icon in the upper-right corner of the map view.
As useful as it is, don’t use this with one hand.
In addition to the loose grip, the other problem is that you won’t be able to rotate two fingers properly while holding the phone with the same hand.
Two-finger swipe up or down
You can’t use this with one hand, but this is an excellent feature if you visit an unfamiliar place using the navigation mode in Google Maps. It allows you to tilt or return the map to flat.
Hold your phone with one hand, and use two fingers of the other hand to swipe up to tilt and swipe down to return to flat view.
Google Maps remembers which view you used before quitting the application.
So, when you reopen it, Google Maps will open to the last one you used.
I usually like to keep the view tilted because it shows what’s coming ahead instead of showing where I’m currently, and it feels more natural.
However, when you search for places, Maps automatically switches to the top-down view. You’ll need to use the two-finger swipe again to tilt the map.
Long-press to drop a pin
Not every spot has a name on Google Maps, and that means searching for locations isn’t always helpful, especially when you want to share it with someone else.
In that case, the long-press gesture comes in handy.
When you long-press an unnamed location in Google Maps, it automatically drops a pin on that place and shows you its nearest location, along with the options to get directions from your current location, Share, Save, Start, and more.
I used this a few times when I visited villages to share exact locations with my friends quickly.
Although limited in functionality, you can also use this gesture to drop a pin when in offline mode. In that case, it’ll show you the coordinates of the pinned location.
After dropping a pin, one of the powerful features that you can use is measuring the distance of a certain place from the pinned location. This works offline, too.
Google Maps can do more than navigation
I don’t use Google Maps only for navigation, and neither should anyone.
Google Maps packs plenty of excellent features that help you with better planning for the places you want visit next.
Not only that, but you can use Google Maps to go back in time and check the places you visited on a given day.
Google Maps’ Timeline feature, which is available under the profile icon, can help find the specific days and routes you took to travel.
You can also create a personal database of places that you trust, avoid crowds using the times graph, and more.
To use Google Maps beyond navigation, you won’t need to dig into Settings and enable anything. These features are easily accessible, so all you have to do is learn how to use them smartly.
