Google Maps Launches New Explore Feature On Android And iOS

With Foursquare in the midst of reinventing itself, Google announced its own addition of an Explore Nearby button for Google Maps on iOS and Android.  With Google having the advantage of already providing directions for users, this could present a serious challenge for Foursquare, who recently started to focus its efforts on timely recommendations and discovery.

The new Google Maps feature expands its usage beyond the standard choice for where to find directions, with Explore adjusting its results based on context, such as the time of day and the weather.  Google recommends turning on location reporting and history to achieve the best results.

Google’s announcement comes with the expectation that users will now spend more time exploring with Google Maps.  “On vacation and want to know where the locals go?  Looking for a new place to grab food on your lunch break?  Waiting on the platform for your next train and wondering when it’s scheduled to arrive?  Starting this week, you can spend less time searching for your answer and more time exploring the world with the Google Maps app for Android and iOS,” Google wrote in its recent blog post.

Google Map’s new feature lists local information, showing nearby locations along with reviews and travel distances, with the Explore feature allowing users to base local results on weather or the time of day.  The new functionality started to roll out last week, with availability to Android and iOS users in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan.

Google explained the benefits of its new functionality further in its blog post.  “The results you get in Explore not only tell you what’s nearby – and you can decide if ‘nearby’ means a five-minute walk or a twenty-minute drive – but they actually change based on context like the time of day and the weather, too.  So don’t worry about wandering over to a breakfast spot for dinner, or arriving at the park just in time for a thunderstorm,” wrote Taj Campbell, Google Maps Product Manager.