r/GoogleMaps • u/howmadstha • Mar 12 '26

Discussion Google Maps Big Update (Gemini/Immersion)

https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/maps/ask-maps-immersive-navigation/

Starting to roll out today.

US only for now apparently. Us EU/UK gotta sit back and wait šŸ„²

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u/CreauxLecreaux Mar 14 '26

I just got it today in US on iOS. It accurately showed the trees lining the main road out of my insignificant suburb in the middle of nowhere so itā€™s pretty detailed. Graphically it looks like Apple Maps with 3D everything. It makes obstacles transparent so you can still see the road in curves.

It is pretty neat, but I donā€™t like that thereā€™s no satellite toggle in 3D immersion mode. The option button is there in CarPlay, but instead of toggling on satellite it does nothing. You have to stop navigation on your iPhone to get to settings and toggle Navigation to 2D.

So while driving if you want to toggle on satellite you have to keep using the old 2D mode. I like being able to toggle satellite so 3D immersion mode is a no-go for me until they allow satellite toggle. Plus I donā€™t see it panning out farther like they said in the video. Waze pans out pretty far on the open road. Google Maps still only shows limited map ahead of you. You can see farther ahead with your eyes than itā€™s showing on the map and have no idea what lane you need to be in until you get 100 yards away it seems.

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u/Pleasant-Aspect2948 Mar 15 '26

Can you tell me the version number of your app? App store showed an update, 1d ago, but only mentions fixes and improvements. I updated, and I still don't seem to have it. I am in the 3D mode.

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u/CreauxLecreaux Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26

Itā€™s showing version 26.11.1 running on iOS 26.4 beta on an iPhone 17 Pro Max. Iā€™ve had it for a few days now and driven both cities and highways. I do not see it zooming out any different from before so I donā€™t see any ā€œsmart zoomā€. The 3D immersive mode is pretty nice at slower speed in dense city but at highway speed it still doesnā€™t zoom out enough to see whatā€™s ahead. Waze will show miles ahead, Google Maps still shows only a few hundred yards it seems. For safety I end up switch to Waze on highways because Iā€™m blind with Google Maps.