We cannot blame Google for not being up to date.
Since the end of the summer, the American technological services company has been on all fronts: the end of the reservation of plane tickets on “Google Flights”, the improvement of “Live View” technology or even the promotion of greener car routes.
What to satisfy the travelers followers of the services of the firm of Mountain View.
Overview of these new features that are always more practical and even a little more eco-responsible.
More immersive search tools for travelers
Who doesn't like to project themselves into their future vacation spot?
With "
Immersive View
", it will soon be possible to fly over a given location...in 3D!
Seeing a monument seen from above, checking the weather using a time cursor or even knowing the road traffic in a specific area: all of this will soon be possible thanks to a combination of data from “Street View” and “Google Earth”.
But also to see if the apartment rented for a few days in Manhattan is really that well located.
Please note, “Immersive View” will not be deployed for several months and only in Barcelona, London, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo and Los Angeles.
France is currently not affected by this update.
Thanks to “Neighborhgood Vibe”, the user of Google Maps can discover the must-see places of a destination.
Here, the Latin Quarter, in Paris.
In the same vein, the American firm will soon give Maps users the possibility of consulting tourist points of interest in a place via “
Neighborhgood Vibe
”.
Thanks to the opinions of its users and the help of artificial intelligence, Google will be able to suggest tourist places considered essential for the greatest number.
Finally "Live View", which allows you to move like a virtual pedestrian everywhere, will be improved.
It will also be possible to search and project to specific places (cafes, grocery stores, banks) thanks to an associated search engine.
Once in front of the place in question, the user can click on a virtual sign displaying a certain amount of information, such as opening hours or opinions left by users.
Called “
Search with Live View
”, the service will also be available first in Barcelona, London, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo and Los Angeles.
Read alsoCan a trip be 100% virtual?
How tourism is trying to capitalize on the metaverse
Greener car journeys
On Google Maps, it is now possible to select a more fuel-efficient route.
If it is already possible to calculate the level of greenhouse gas emissions from a flight, this has also been the case for a few weeks for car journeys.
Google Maps thus offers its European users the option of selecting less fuel-intensive car journeys.
The tool is very precise: the motorist can even enter the type of engine of his vehicle (petrol, diesel, hybrid or electric).
To obtain these more economical routes, Google relies in France on data from the European Environment Agency.
The gain for the motorist is twofold: less CO2 emissions per journey and savings for the wallet.
No more plane tickets, hello the train
Since September 30 in Europe, it is no longer possible to book a plane ticket directly through the “Book on Google” tool.
This feature, available since 2019, allowed Internet users to buy a plane ticket directly on a dedicated platform.
The online flight comparator "
Google Flights
", meanwhile, continues its journey.
In parallel, a similar service but dedicated to train travel has appeared.
Available in a few countries (Japan, Germany, Spain and Italy), it displays train journeys offered by railway companies and available for booking.
The tool appears in the form of a module comparing the prices and times of the journeys sought.
It is then possible to book the desired journey via a link redirecting the user to the company's website.
For the time being, it is not possible to search for a journey in France.
Google has already announced that this functionality will gradually be extended to other destinations around the world.