Google Maps Makes it Easier to Decide on a Restaurant With New Group Planning Feature

[MacRumors]

Google today announced a new group planning feature for Google Maps on iOS and Android, which aims to make it easier for a group of friends to decide on a place to eat.

To use the feature, open Google Maps and tap "Restaurants" on the Explore tab. Then long press on any location to add it to a shortlist, shown in a small floating bubble on the lower right side of the screen. Once you add a few places you can share the shortlist with friends through any messaging app, like iMessages, which will then let them browse the list and link them back to Google Maps.

Friends can then vote in Google Maps on their favorite restaurant in the shortlist, and every member in the group can add and delete places. Voting results are showed in Google Maps, and if a group member doesn't have the app they can also view it on the web.

This may sound familiar: you and your friends are trying to pick a place for dinner, but no one wants to make the decision and you don't know where to go. How do you decide on a place that your BBQ aficionado bestie, quinoa-loving sister, and wannabe foodie friend can all enjoy without scrolling through a ton of links in group text messages?

Starting today, you can use Google Maps to easily plan where to go as a group

At Google I/O in May, Google outlined numerous features coming to Google Maps throughout the year, including AR Street View, a "For You" Tab, and this week's group planning feature. Recently, Google Maps on iOS also updated with an events section and elevation data, and introduced CarPlay support in iOS 12.

Group planning will start rolling out on iOS and Android this week.

Article Link: Google Maps Makes it Easier to Decide on a Restaurant With New Group Planning Feature

 

[friednoodles]

That Google thinks you need a voting system to decide on a restaurant with friends shows once again that they don’t understand what it’s like to be normal humans.

 

[chrono1081]

That Google thinks you need a voting system to decide on a restaurant with friends shows once again that they don’t understand what it’s like to be normal humans.

Unfortunately you'd be surprised. My friends are so bad about deciding where to eat I made an app that picks for us. When I start the app there's a 20 second countdown, if they don't decide by then the app picks a place and they have to deal with it.

 

[friednoodles]

Unfortunately you'd be surprised. My friends are so bad about deciding where to eat I made an app that picks for us. When I start the app there's a 20 second countdown, if they don't decide by then the app picks a place and they have to deal with it.

... no comment

 

[pete2106]

Unfortunately you'd be surprised. My friends are so bad about deciding where to eat I made an app that picks for us. When I start the app there's a 20 second countdown, if they don't decide by then the app picks a place and they have to deal with it.

This is what society has become

 

[SegPip]

This update is kinda like a mix between Google Maps and Urban Spoon.
Y'all remember that app that you spin a wheel and it decides where to eat??

Also, I noticed this morning that Google Maps name in the App Store is now: Google Maps - Transit & Food

 

[Sasparilla]

Sounds like a useful, fun tool particularly for younger folks in bigger cities - it would be much better if Apple did it with privacy for the users. (i.e. without the results and your constant date / time / location defaulting into your permanent file for future reference and access by Google and whatever govt comes into power at some future point.)

 

[alien3dx]

it will be like old foursquare. Sometimes when data large,google ask if x place for review.To me it's annoying.Just point of interest okay review not !.

 

[Vanilla35]

Big fan of this. A rating system for restaurants sounds antiquated and unnecessary, but there are so many different types of food and restaurants now in urban areas that it becomes hard for people to make decisions if they don't immediately feel the want for a certain kind of food.

Also everyone has different primary preferences, secondary preferences; some people can't handle spicy food, etc. So when you have multiple people it makes decision making easier, and if everyone has easy access to the app then it works well - most people have google maps.

The alternative would be iMessage or FBmessenger, which works fine too (FBmessenger has a poll option), but this is certainly not a bad idea, and is value added.

 

[Mousse]

Bleh. Not just meh, but BLEH. Google keeps adding more and more bloat to Maps. I like the early version of Maps that was svelte and quick, did a few things and did it well. Just like how Weather used to be a great little app, now it's a bloated POS. Early versions of iTunes (Awesome) to the current iTunes (Bleh).

 

[luvbug]

So, when 8 out of 10 restaurant choices are made via Google/FB/etc. recommendations, how much do you think they'll charge restaurants to be in the list?? They *must* keep growing, ya know, so sooner or later, that's what it will come down to: restaurants with money will be paying Google/FB to be successful (sound familiar?). Ofc, restaurants are but one example.

 

[nburwell]

Because texting your friends for suggestions on where to eat is too difficult nowadays? I'm sorry, but I'll probably never use this feature.

 

[C DM]

Because texting your friends for suggestions on where to eat is too difficult nowadays? I'm sorry, but I'll probably never use this feature.

For some it can be a similar type of improvement that texting brought for this kind of thing over calling, for example.

 

[linkmaster02]

Because texting your friends for suggestions on where to eat is too difficult nowadays? I'm sorry, but I'll probably never use this feature.

Automobiles? Who needs 'em! Just give me a faster horse!

 

[jlwarlow]

Still can’t share drive on iOS though (not ETA, actual drive progress). How long has that been available on Android?

 

[Vanilla35]

Still can’t share drive on iOS though (not ETA, actual drive progress). How long has that been available on Android?

There are several android features from google apps/products that just are not available on iOS, it's always been like that, so not surprising to hear that. Not sure the reason why though.

 

[Defthand]

I’m divorcing myself from Apple’s ecosystem and mobile products for reasons I won’t repeat here. But one reason is to applaud and $upport the utility that Google is baking into its services and products. iOS, by comparison, has morphed into a kitsch toy box.

 

[ignatius345]

Fixed the headline:

Google Maps Makes it More Lucrative to Target Ads To You By Knowing Which Restaurant You're Going To, When, And With Which Friends

 

[jlwarlow]

There are several android features from google apps/products that just are not available on iOS, it's always been like that, so not surprising to hear that. Not sure the reason why though.

Google maps does let you share your location in real time, but that's probably to get you to keep the app running so Google can track you (their benefit), where's sharing your ETA is mainly a benefit to you so probably something Google is keeping for Android.
[doublepost=1538134787][/doublepost]

I’m divorcing myself from Apple’s ecosystem and mobile products for reasons I won’t repeat here. But one reason is to applaud and $upport the utility that Google is baking into its services and products. iOS, by comparison, has morphed into a kitsch toy box.

I've toyed with going Apple hardware and Google Software & Services but I don't see myself going full Apple detox. There are a few Android phones I like but I had a HTC in the past and hated the experience.

 

[Vanilla35]

Google maps does let you share your location in real time, but that's probably to get you to keep the app running so Google can track you (their benefit), where's sharing your ETA is mainly a benefit to you so probably something Google is keeping for Android.
[doublepost=1538134787][/doublepost]

I've toyed with going Apple hardware and Google Software & Services but I don't see myself going full Apple detox. There are a few Android phones I like but I had a HTC in the past and hated the experience.

Stock google is definitely the cleanest, most integrated, and smoothest experience. MIUI from Xiaomi has been my favorite overall android OS for the past 5-7 years though.