Google has rounded up the last of the big three third-party navigation announcements with the rollout of its Google Maps app to private beta testers.
Unlike the Waze beta test, one lucky member on reddit has decided to share screenshots of Google’s CarPlay navigation app, which will soon rollout to the rest of us over the coming months via an iOS 12 compatible update.
The screenshots look a little rough around the edges, compared to the only screenshot shared by Apple for Waze and their CarPlay App.
You can see that the stock Apple navigation icon is replaced in the side dock during the use of the app, whilst the Google branded map tiles and arrow head we’ve come to expect sit below Apple’s navigation interface. The most striking difference to other navigation apps currently shown running on CarPlay is the ability to display either standard or satellite views during planing and navigation. Unless downloaded, I am sure this will give a bigger mobile data hit than using the standard map display option.
Tapping on the screen will invoke the CarPlay menu bars to allow access to settings. From here users can choose basic navigation options, from avoiding highways and tolls, to toggling map views and North up direction.
Adding a destination on the CarPlay display allows additional options to browse recent searches directly on the CarPlay screen, going Home or to Work, viewing your saved places, gas stations or other.
Like other Google iOS apps, users will also be able to press the microphone and speak to search for their destination, directly in the app. It unlikely that Google Maps will support interaction over Siri, but there is still hope that support will be allowed in Apple CarPlay sometime in the future. For now, Siri Shortcuts in iOS 12 might be your only way.
Access to the beta is fairly strict, with access given to some members will high level Local Guide credentials. It is unlikely we will see a public release tomorrow, alongside the final release of iOS 12. Hopefully we will hear more from Google over the coming weeks, or like us, keep checking the app with Apple CarPlay as soon as a new update becomes available and cross your fingers it’s icon popups up on your CarPlay display.
