Google is running some small but useful updates for Google Maps, targeting the Saved App tab. If you have not used it before, you can bookmark your favorite locations, whether they are parks or pubs, and sort them by “favorites”, “want to go”, “star locations” or custom lists.
The update makes it easier to sort locations if you have accidentally saved many of them. You can now order places by how short you have stored them and by how close you are (if Google Maps has access to your location, that’s what it probably does).
If you’ve enabled your Location History in Google Maps, the app will now also make it easier to add places to the Saved tab by suggesting them based on where you’ve been. Locations you have visited are now stored on the app’s Timeline feature.
As Google puts it: “You can also easily find that huge hole in the wall restaurant you visited during one of your past vacations, or that fun boutique you jumped into a few weeks ago. All of these insights are now organized by time, city, region or country. ”
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These updates (which are now rolling out, Google says) are certainly welcome. The Saved tab always seems to me to be a feature with much more potential than actual utility, so it’s good to see it get some more attention. The idea of having a tool that serves as both a travel diary and a to-do list for places to visit in your area of residence is very appealing. But the actual experience with the Save tab is a bit frustrating.
The biggest annoyance is that if you save a lot of places, it instantly clutter your map view, with no quick way to turn labels on and off (you can only hide individual lists). This encourages you to immediately save places, and use the features as it is designed. These changes are a start, but Google could do more.
