Rendering will apparently be much smoother at every level of zoom as well. The new, richer 3D buildings will automatically appear as you descend to the street level. The first, on the left, shows the present rendering of Maps (on the iPhone) while the second image is a screen from the forthcoming Google Maps upgrade for Android: The difference in the current and new versions of Maps for Mobile is illustrated by the two following images. It’s not clear whether this upgrade will make it to the iPhone and other smartphone platforms (probably unlikely). And now comes what appears to be a kind of breakthrough that allows maps to be rendered dynamically, with much less data, and simultaneously offer enhanced 3D imagery. One could even make an argument that search on Maps is more important than general web search on mobile for Google.įor some time Google has been adding enhancements to Google Maps (including Navigation) on the Android OS. But that’s even more true on the iPhone and Android devices - especially Android. Google Maps is clearly a strategic product for the company.

Google maps 3d