Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

[MacRumors]

Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you.

Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once you start driving again.

Saving your parking spot in Maps isn't a new ability in itself. You could already do that manually by tapping your location on the map and then choosing Saved Parking. The difference here is that the whole process is automated for you.

Akasaka explains what you need to do to get the feature to work:

Get in a car with Google Maps and connect to your car with USB, Bluetooth or CarPlay, and once you're done driving, there's a little pin waiting for you when you open Google Maps next – a personal parking Maps valet, just for you. When you drive again, the pin goes away, just like that.

Automatic parking location saving started rolling out on iPhone about a month ago, but since then another feature has gone live that will now use any custom car icons you've set up as a parking icon, instead of the default "P" icon. Google added custom car icons to Maps in 2020, and eight new car shapes and colors were added earlier this year.

As things stand, the new auto-save parking place feature only works on iOS. While a similar parking reminder can be found on Android, the icon will only go away if the user manually removes it.

(Via 9to5Google.)

Article Link: Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

 

[arkitect]

Is this really new? 🤔
I could swear that I have seen this pop up on Google Maps before… and no, I did not manually save my Parking Location.
It was just an automatic pin that'd appear.

Obviously I may be misremembering it… but I'd bet a sizeable chunk of cash it has been there for a while.

 

[Justin Cymbal]

Looks like Apple 🍎 Maps has had this feature for a while now:

Use Maps on your iPhone to find your parked car's location - Apple Support

On an iPhone 6 or later with iOS 10 or later, Maps can drop a parked car marker when you disconnect your iPhone from your car’s Bluetooth or CarPlay system.

support.apple.com

Get directions to your parked car in Maps on iPhone

In Maps on iPhone, find your parked car.

support.apple.com

Interesting because it’s oftentimes Google (not Apple) pioneering new improvements to maps, etc.

Considering the fact that Apple has had this available for so long now, I’m kind of shocked that it took as long as it did for Google to copy the feature. Especially considering it’s such a practical feature for pretty much anyone who drives a car. Especially in a city 🏙️ where this feature is primarily used

 

[SilmarilFinder]

Is this really new? 🤔
I could swear that I have seen this pop up on Google Maps before… and no, I did not manually save my Parking Location.
It was just an automatic pin that'd appear.

Obviously I may be misremembering it… but I'd bet a sizeable chunk of cash it has been there for a while.

I saw it worked well, but I don’t think it was automatic all the time. I suspect they were testing it for a while under certain conditions.

I find this feature extremely useful, especially when parking in London (yes I can find parking spaces in London!).

 

[brilliantthings]

Is this really new? 🤔
I could swear that I have seen this pop up on Google Maps before… and no, I did not manually save my Parking Location.
It was just an automatic pin that'd appear.

Obviously I may be misremembering it… but I'd bet a sizeable chunk of cash it has been there for a while.

I've had this on Google Maps for ages. Always automatic

 

[Braunschweiger]

This would be great for Apple Maps. My iPhone still thinks my car is parking in another country because I never removed the Parking pin.

 

[ifxf]

My last two cars offered this feature.

 

[7thson]

This would be great for Apple Maps. My iPhone still thinks my car is parking in another country because I never removed the Parking pin.

It’s already there. It’s a toggle in Maps settings. At the bottom on iOS 18.

 

[contacos]

This has been an option forever if you set locations to always

 

[Braunschweiger]

It’s already there. It’s a toggle in Maps settings. At the bottom on iOS 18.

I know but only when the car got CarPlay.

 

[mattwolfmatt]

Does Waze have this?

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Noticed this a few weeks ago when traveling. It was handy!

Wish wish there was some way to add notes, though. 4/5 of my parking, where I need to mark it, is in a multi-level garage.

 

[7thson]

I know but only when the car got CarPlay.

It’s been working for years. I only recently got CarPlay. It’s been there so long I ignore it now because I don’t really need it but find it useful when out of town.

 

[smithc]

Is this really new? 🤔
I could swear that I have seen this pop up on Google Maps before… and no, I did not manually save my Parking Location.
It was just an automatic pin that'd appear.

Obviously I may be misremembering it… but I'd bet a sizeable chunk of cash it has been there for a while.

No I am 100% confident this has automatically happen many times. Very confused by this announcement.

 

[dugbug]

Slowly catching up to Apple Maps

 

[ForkHandles]

I tried to use this feature on Apple Maps the other day and got let down.

It happens that if you use your iPhone when in a car it knows you’re not driving, so it doesn’t atomically remember where the car was parked.

Doh!

 

[Lloigorr]

Wait, google maps users didn’t have that feature until now??
That’s one of the little features in Apple Maps I really like (which never let me down btw)

 

[Deedolito]

Does Waze have this?

Indeed it does, and for quite a while now.

 

[Spinarelo]

Looks like Apple 🍎 Maps has had this feature for a while now:

Use Maps on your iPhone to find your parked car's location - Apple Support

On an iPhone 6 or later with iOS 10 or later, Maps can drop a parked car marker when you disconnect your iPhone from your car’s Bluetooth or CarPlay system.

support.apple.com

Get directions to your parked car in Maps on iPhone

In Maps on iPhone, find your parked car.

support.apple.com

Interesting because it’s oftentimes Google (not Apple) pioneering new improvements to maps, etc.

Considering the fact that Apple has had this available for so long now, I’m kind of shocked that it took as long as it did for Google to copy the feature. Especially considering it’s such a practical feature for pretty much anyone who drives a car. Especially in a city 🏙️ where this feature is primarily used

No. Google maps has had this for a very long time, just not on iOS

 

[hagjohn]

Does Waze have this?

Yes.

 

[ignatius345]

Looks like Apple 🍎 Maps has had this feature for a while now

Apple Maps has been doing this for at least the past 5 years, if not longer. It just automatically drops a pin down when you disconnect from your car's Bluetooth. You can also add a photo of your spot to the saved pin, and it starts a little timer that tells you how long you've been parked. I'd assumed iOS Google Maps had this all along. Weird omission!

 

[ignatius345]

I tried to use this feature on Apple Maps the other day and got let down.

It happens that if you use your iPhone when in a car it knows you’re not driving, so it doesn’t atomically remember where the car was parked.

Doh!

Were you connected to the car's bluetooth? It only knows to drop the pin when you disconnect from a car's bluetooth connection. It doesn't just automatically trigger when you get out of any moving vehicle, otherwise you'd get parked car pins at bus stops and such.

 

[bpb]

I know but only when the car got CarPlay.

I've never owned a car play car and this has worked for me for *years*. You just have to have your phone connected to the car's bluetooth at the time you park. It's been a feature since iOS 10 in 2016.

Get directions to your parked car in Maps on iPhone

In Maps on iPhone, find your parked car.

support.apple.com

 

[ForkHandles]

Were you connected to the car's bluetooth? It only knows to drop the pin when you disconnect from a car's bluetooth connection. It doesn't just automatically trigger when you get out of any moving vehicle, otherwise you'd get parked car pins at bus stops and such.

Ahhhhhhhh !!

That sounds a bit clevererer!

 

[rwilliams]

Apple Maps has been doing this for at least the past 5 years, if not longer. It just automatically drops a pin down when you disconnect from your car's Bluetooth. You can also add a photo of your spot to the saved pin, and it starts a little timer that tells you how long you've been parked. I'd assumed iOS Google Maps had this all along. Weird omission.

I didn't know about adding a photo of your parking spot to the saved pin or the timer. Thanks!