Skip to main content

Hands on: Google Maps 5.7 adds stop-by-stop public transit Nav. and offline maps to Android

google-maps-public-transit-web
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google has added some much needed public transit support to its Google Maps app, it revealed in a blog post today. Google Maps 5.7, now available on the Android Market, adds turn-by-turn (or “stop-by-stop”) GPS transit navigation for more than 400 cities around the world, with more on the way soon. A useful Google Labs feature that allows you to download offline maps (10 square miles at a time) has also been added.

Like turn-by-turn navigation, the Transit Navigation (beta) uses GPS to determine your location along routes that Google downloads from local transit companies or governments. The app warns you when your stop is coming up with notifications and will vibrate when it’s time to get off, even if you’re doing other things on your phone. While Google had a transit option on its Website before, the feature now seems to work a bit more accurately and is now supported on the Android Maps & Navigation app.

google-maps-transit-navigation
Image used with permission by copyright holder

We tested out the navigation here in New York City to mixed results. While we like the option of navigating public transit on Google Maps, the service still pales in comparison to the accuracy of competing services like HopStop. Maps 5.7 Transit Nav. led us to a further stop than we could have used a few times and the app doesn’t have granular options to let you choose between bus transit and the subway, or how much walking you’re comfortable doing. In addition, though it will advise you to take the subway, it is completely useless once you head underground due to a complete lack of mobile data connections in the NYC subway system. For this reason alone, we’ll be sticking with HopStop, which doesn’t have the pretty maps that Google’s app does, but it works and gives us control over how we’d like to travel and the ability to look for alternate routes.

Offline, kind of

We are happy that Google has added some offline features. Now, when you re-enter Google Maps, it will show you the set of directions–walking, car, or public transit–that you last viewed. It would be nice if Google took this a step further and let you save directions or destinations to your phone memory (and online) for future reference. Again, this is most useful in cities like New York where public transit takes you off the mobile grid for extended periods of time.

The new Google Labs feature for offline storage solves some of these problems. The feature allows you to select an address and download 10 square miles of map data around it. To download an entire city or region, you must download it in square chunks. Still, once you have the data, you have it, so for those with limited data connectivity (or crappy data plans), it is a good option for basic navigation. The download took us about 30 seconds. It looks like it downloads those fancy 3D buildings Google introduced last December as well.

Below is a Google video explaining the features of the new Google Maps 5.7.

And here is a quick demonstration of the Offline maps feature via MobileBurn.

Jeffrey Van Camp
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…
AT&T just made it a lot easier to upgrade your phone
AT&T Storefront with logo.

Do you want to upgrade your phone more than once a year? What about three times a year? Are you on AT&T? If you answered yes to those questions, then AT&T’s new “Next Up Anytime” early upgrade program is made for you. With this add-on, you’ll be able to upgrade your phone three times a year for just $10 extra every month. It will be available starting July 16.

Currently, AT&T has its “Next Up” add-on, which has been available for the past several years. This program costs $6 extra per month and lets you upgrade by trading in your existing phone after at least half of it is paid off. But the new Next Up Anytime option gives you some more flexibility.

Read more
Motorola is selling unlocked smartphones for just $150 today
Someone holding the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024).

Have you been looking for phone deals but don’t want to spend a ton of money on flagship devices from Apple and Samsung? Have you ever considered investing in an unlocked Motorola? For a limited time, the company is offering a $100 markdown on the Motorola Moto G 5G. It can be yours for just $150, and your days and nights of phone-shopping will finally be over!

Why you should buy the Motorola Moto G 5G
Powered by the Snapdragon 480+ 5G CPU and 4GB of RAM, the Moto G delivers exceptional performance across the board. From UI navigation to apps, games, and camera functions, you can expect fast load times, next to no buffering, and smooth animations. You’ll also get up to 128GB of internal storage that you’ll be able to use for photos, videos, music, and any other mobile content you can store locally. 

Read more
The Nokia 3210 is the worst phone I’ve used in 2024
A person holding the Nokia 3210, showing the screen.

Where do I even start with the Nokia 3210? Not the original, which was one of the coolest phones to own back in a time when Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace wasn’t even a thing, but the latest 2024 reissue that has come along to save us all from digital overload, the horror of social media, and the endless distraction that is the modern smartphone.

Except behind this facade of marketing-friendly do-goodery hides a weapon of torture, a device so foul that I’d rather sit through multiple showings of Jar Jar Binks and the gang hopelessly trying to bring back the magic of A New Hope than use it.
The Nokia 3210 really is that bad

Read more