It’s a little clunky, but you can follow these directions to generate a map with directions from point A to B, then drag the path through any route that you like that connects them.
[Apparently the example isn’t rendering, so the URL is My map - Google My Maps]
You could start with that and add a new route right away.
You can, but the route you create is … not the same as an auto-generated route once you open it on mobile. It merely shows the blue line, but doesn’t GPS track you or show step-by-step directions or any of the normal stuff you’d expect. Overall it was pretty useless when I tried it.
The thing that drives me crazy about Google Maps is how street names are often not visible without zooming or scrolling.
But can any of your alternatives do this?
:-)
If we’re talking about actual GPS driving directions, is Android Google Maps different from iOS Google maps? I rarely see paid locations when getting turn by turn directions. Neither on the phone nor via Android Auto.
Tried iOS maps a few times. I do like some of the Apple map perspective changes but the very first time I used it last year to get to a local nature park it gave me wrong directions.
My main issue with Google Maps (on phone) is how obfuscated the UI is. Why is there no settings menu? Why does it take me a bunch of taps and scrolling to get to my saved maps instead of just putting them in the overlay menu?
If you tap your profile image on the upper right, the menu drops down including the link to settings.
In the bottom of the default maps page on launch there’s a Saved tab and if you tap that saved maps is right at the bottom.
Thanks! Though, again, that just goes to show how pointlessly obfuscated it is. I don’t want to change my profile, I want to change settings!
I know, that’s my point. To get my custom cycle route overlay, for instance, I have to a) tap saved, b) scroll down to the very bottom, c) press Maps, d) select my cycle map overlay. And that’s assuming I know to do that. Everything in the UI is hidden several layers away in unintuitively labelled buttons and menus.
I’m not going to advocate for their UI, but I never use saved maps. Having a prominent surface level link would be clutter for me.
That said, I guess it would be nice if you could create a shortcut on your mobile homepage directly to a saved map.
It doesn’t need to be a surface level link. It should be in the overlay menu with the other overlays. Or at the very least, presented to you front and centre when you tap on Saved.
It’s right there when you click Saved as in my screenshot. I didn’t have to scroll. Maybe it depends on your screen aspect ratio.
My primary use case for maps is a turn by turn GPS via Android Auto. I just talk to the car and get non cluttered directions. But scrolling through maps on the phone is a clutter of promoted locations.
