Earlier this year, 9to5Google I’ve spotted the first signs of a change in Google Maps, which seems to be prioritizing showing more of the map at all times. Oddly enough, the partial rollout was backed off after a few weeks, and Google apparently decided that the old UI was superior after all.
But it seems that it was just a postponement of the launch. in New Publication9to5Google describes how the new UI is back, with some improvements along the way.
As with the original update, the goal appears to be to get rid of full-screen overlays, instead providing users with sheets that appear on top of the map, while keeping at least some of them visible, as you can see below.
Overlay layers appear to have much more rounded corners, and can now be removed with a simple tap on the close button in the top right corner, next to the Share icon.
The biggest change comes when you’re actually looking to communicate trends – perhaps the main time people use the app. As you can see in the screenshot comparison below, it’s been simplified by using a floating island to place at the start and destination location, with driving, transit, walking, biking and cycling options moved to an island below.
Overall, it appears to be a fairly modest upgrade over the previous withdrawn change. In fact, the most noticeable difference is that context sheets no longer have a double back:
Admittedly, it’s a small change, but it makes things look cleaner and lets you see more of the map.
At the time of writing, the server-side update – version 11.127.x on Android – has not been widely rolled out, suggesting that it may still be in testing, and will likely be pulled again.
However, this is apparently an update that Google has been testing for at least three months, so it seems likely that it will be rolled out to all users in one form or another in the near future.