- Google Maps is working on new customization options for how vehicles are depicted.
- Existing options have consisted of a directional arrow, and three basic vehicles.
- After first testing on iOS, Maps beta on Android adds five new vehicle designs with new color options.
Not every change we’re looking forward to from mobile apps needs to reinvent the wheel. While it’s great when an app delivers some useful new functionality, we can also get just as excited about clever tweaks to an app’s design. Google Maps has been working on just such an upgrade to the way it displays your vehicle while helping you navigate, and it’s finally starting to become available on Android.
So far, when you’ve been using the navigation view in Google Maps, the icon used to represent your current position defaults to a blue arrow. If you tap on that icon, you can choose from some basic alternatives: a car, SUV, and pickup truck. But that’s been about the extent to which you’ve had any ability to customize things.