Celebrating 15 years of existence, Google Maps' Street View finds new integrated features and an upgraded camera for improved photography. New elements coming to Google Maps on both Android and iOS are historical imagery, showcasing in Street View specific details surrounding various objects, buildings, and overall places per dated entries under the selection "see more dates."
Ever wanted to travel back in time? Google Maps now lets you do that with said mobile-based proponents that give users a peek into days long past of specific areas and destinations, expressed in Google's own announcement via New York City's 150-foot pine cone sculpture look-alike called The Vessel, located amid Hudson Yards. Street View's historical imagery was first conceived all the way back in 2014 but now will find its home on mobile devices aptly on the service's 15th birthday.
Maps' Street View historical imagery will, according to Google, show past entries of specific locations where available, dated all the way back to the service's first launch in 2007. To access the option while in Street View, users must first tap the specific entity they want to see historical details about, then select the "see more dates" option at the bottom of the screen. In its demo, Google showcases the slow construction of the spiraling staircase Vessel of Manhattan.
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Several additional new concepts coming to Google Maps Street View are improved business operational information, made more illuminating via the use of artificial intelligence, enhanced Live View prowess for augmented reality-like directional support when on foot, and its new immersive view proponent, announced earlier this month. The immersive view won't officially launch until later this year but provides a future baseline for the advancement of Google Maps on Street View's anniversary.
Amid its announcement, Google also proudly showcased new technology going into Street View in the form of an improved camera design. The enhanced camera system won't require the company to replace its Street View cars anymore, as it is a less-than-15 pound "ultra-transportable camera system that's roughly the size of a house cat." Additionally, Google touts that it is highly customizable and can readily be attached to practically any car available, making it quite the new and improved tech for broadening Street View.
The search and tech giant also admitted to the utilization of necessary forms of transportation in specific areas, like snowmobiles in the Arctic and camels in the Arabian desert. Street View's new high-quality camera system will make certain shots all the more simple and rewarding upon capturing and allow Google photographers to reach certain areas in less stressful ways.
To commemorate the occasion even more, Google highlighted that users on the desktop would notice the so-called "beloved" Pegman decked out in a birthday hat and balloons for its 15th birthday, which is a nice touch. The company makes a note of specific places for users to test its new time-traveling historical imagery in Street View, such as France's Les Invalides and the Sudanese Pyramids of Meroë.
