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Google Maps is trying to make sure you unlock your phone less often

Google Maps running on a smartphone

Google is back with its latest feature drop for the Maps app. One of the useful things it announced is called "Glanceable Directions". The new Google Maps feature eliminates the need to unlock your phone to check crucial navigation data.

Google Maps Glanceable Directions

Up until now, we had to unlock our Android or iOS devices to check stuff like estimated time of arrival (ETA) and when to take the next turn. But now it will become a thing of the past once the feature rolls out. All this information will then be available right on your lock screen.

What's more is that if you plan to re-route by taking a different road, Google Maps will automatically update the route details on your lock screen.

The search giant also revealed that it's working on Live Activities compatibility for Google Maps. For the uninitiated, Live Activities is a native iOS feature that shows real-time data on your lock screen. For instance, you can create a Live Activity of your favorite sports game and see the scores without unlocking your phone. To name a few more, you can also check stuff like your Nike workout or your Uber driver's ETA in real-time.

Live Activities was first added to Apple Maps and other Apple apps with iOS 16.0, but it was opened to third-party developers with iOS 16.1. While the feature is available on all iPhone models, the Live Activities UI is centered around the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. Glanceable directions are expected to arrive both on Android and iPhone in the coming months.

In case you missed it, you can also check out what Google has to say about it's new AI-powered features that it just announced in Paris.

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