Are you looking for an easy and efficient way to navigate your surroundings by visualizing the layout of your territory in real-time? Well, then Google Maps Live View is the perfect tool for you! This feature allows you to make the maps experience much more interactive as you can view satellite images of your location in live-time.
Google Maps Live View is a feature of the Google Maps browser that uses augmented reality to indicate directions. It is one of the most highly rated new features of Google Maps. Especially because it shows you more precisely and dynamically the location of businesses, buildings and people using the mobile camera.
The Live View function shows in a more dynamic way the route you should follow to reach a business, landmark or person.
Although Google Maps Live View has been available for use on Android and iOS since 2021, many of its options are not very well known. In addition, being one of the relatively new features of Google Maps, at the moment there are few cities worldwide where it can be enabled. Anyway, here we show you how to take advantage of the best of this very useful tool.
How to use Live View to get an address
– Open Google Maps on your Android phone or iPhone and search for a destination.
– Select the “Directions” option.
– Look for the “Live View” function next to the blue “Start” button.
– Remember to click on “Enable camera access” or “Allow Google Maps to take photos and video”, depending on whether you’re using iOS or Android, respectively.
– Wait for Maps to prompt you to point your camera to locate your surroundings by focusing on buildings, street signs and landmarks.
– Once Live View recognizes your position, it will indicate the correct direction to reach your destination using arrows. Remember to hold the phone vertically to continue using Live View or horizontally if you want to return to the 2D map.
Find people with Live View
– Click on your profile picture in Maps and then select “Share location”.
– If the person has previously shared their location with you, just tap on it. Otherwise, you will need to ask your contact to share their location with you.
– Now tap on Live View and calibrate the environment.
– Follow the compass to reach the location of the individual.
This Live View trick will show you the way to get to the point where the person is in the same way as it would to locate a building or landmark. However, it is worth clarifying that this specific function is currently only available for Pixel mobiles.
You should also keep in mind that the usefulness of Live View will depend on the city where you are. Since, for the moment, only addresses in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris or Tokyo are available. In addition, other major metropolitan areas such as Barcelona, Madrid and Dublin will be added progressively.
