Windows 10: New transit updates on Google Maps on Android and iOS

Brink · Jun 27, 2019

On days when everything runs smoothly, taking public transit is one of the best ways to get around town. Not only is it cost-effective and efficient, but it also lets you stay hands free so you can sit back, relax and maybe even read a few chapters of your favorite book. But unexpected delays or overcrowded vehicles can quickly turn your ride from enjoyable to stressful. Starting today, Google Maps is rolling out two new features to help you better plan for your transit ride and stay more comfortable along the way.

Live traffic delays for buses

When you have an important meeting, a date with a friend, or a doctor’s appointment, often the first thing you’ll do is check the transit schedule to make sure you can make it on time. Unfortunately, transit schedules don’t always reflect real-time traffic conditions that impact your ride, which can cause a lot of unnecessary stress when you end up arriving later than you thought you would.

To solve for this, Google Maps is launching live traffic delays for buses in places where we don’t already have real-time information direct from local transit agencies. You’ll now be able to see if your bus will be late, how long the delay will be, and more accurate travel times based on live traffic conditions along your route. You’ll also see exactly where the delays are on the map so you know what to expect before you even hop on your bus.

Live traffic delays for buses

Crowdedness predictions

There’s nothing more uncomfortable than being packed like a can of sardines on a hot, sweaty train. We’re introducing transit crowdedness predictions so you can see how crowded your bus, train or subway is likely to be based on past rides. Now you can make an informed decision about whether or not you want to squeeze on, or wait a few more minutes for a vehicle where you’re more likely to snag a seat.

Crowdedness predictions in transit navigation

You’ll start to see these features roll out on Google Maps in nearly 200 cities around the globe on both Android and iOS today. Interested in learning more about crowdedness trends in your area? Check it out in this post.
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Source: Grab a seat and be on time with new transit updates on Google Maps

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Brink · Jun 27, 2019

UWP porting guidance for Android and iOS developers

Today, we are pleased to introduce a new app development concept map for app developers that aligns software development concepts across the iOS, Android, and Windows platforms. App developers new to Windows 10, who are already familiar with Android or iOS, will be able to use this reference to quickly orient themselves on building for the UWP.

Like the 2nd century B.C. Rosetta Stone tablet, which enabled translation between three different ancient languages, this Windows app concept map can be used to translate ideas between Android, iOS, and Windows, making porting much easier between platforms. You can use the concept map side-by-side with other useful resources found in our porting apps to Windows 10 section on MSDN. Reviewing this guide will help you port your apps to Windows and expose them to a larger user base.

Excerpt from the guidance document: a side-by-side map of data concepts in Android, iOS, and Windows.

The concept mapping guidance is broken out into 15 sections to make navigation between concepts and platforms simple:

User-interface – overview of controls and styling– overview of controls and styling

Navigation and app structure – toolbars, layouts and back buttons

Custom inputs – speech recognition and beyond

Data – databases, REST calls and web sockets

Tooling – comparing IDEs

App lifecycle – suspend and resume events as well as background tasks

Performance – threading, async calls and performance best practices

Monetization – in-app purchases and trials

Adapting to multiple platforms – responsive layout and device capability testing

Notifications – push and scheduled notifications as well as display widgets

Media capture and rendering – video and audio

Sensors – accessing raw and processed sensor data

Location and mapping – maps, geofencing and geocoding

App-to-app communication – talking between different apps

Software design – overview of preferred design patterns by platform

At a glance, you’ll be able to see the difference between platforms and identify which features and functionality are available to each. The guidance is laid out in a convenient table that let you easily locate and learn more about the platform details you are most interested in. Android supports app widgets, for example, but iOS does not. iOS supports badges, on the other hand, while Android does not. Windows supports badges and also has a tile system.

Beyond development concept mapping, it’s worth noting that the Dev Center provides a large array of additional resources to help app developers bring their existing code to Windows 10. Here are just a few links to help get you started:

What’s a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app?

Getting Started with UWP for iOS developers

Introduction to UWP Design

Porting Apps to Windows 10

Bringing your mobile apps to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) provides new reach for your existing code beyond mobile. For iOS developers, it’s also worth looking at the Windows Bridge for iOS, which makes it easier to use your existing Objective-C codebase on Windows.
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Source: UWP porting guidance for Android and iOS developers | Building Apps for Windows

Brink · Jun 27, 2019

Google Drive is getting a new look on iOS and Android

What’s changing

Google Drive is getting a new look and feel on iOS and Android, making it easier to communicate and collaborate across files in Drive on mobile devices.

This Material redesign is part of a larger effort to bring the look and feel of our G Suite apps together as a whole, with ease-of-use in mind.

Some improvements you’ll see include:

New Home tab and bottom navigation

Similar to Drive on the web, the Home tab will surface the files that are most important to you, based on things like:

The last time you accessed or edited a file

Who specific files are frequently shared with

What files are used at specific times of day.

A more intuitive bottom navigation bar that features options to switch between Home, Starred, files shared with you (Shared), and all files (Files), allowing for quicker access to your most important items.

Expanded search bar

The search bar is now more accessible across the application, including from the Team Drives page.

My Drive, Team Drives and Computers in Files view

Team Drives will be now be displayed as a tab next to My Drive in the Files view. Users will also see a Computers tab if they have backed up content from a local machine to their account.

New account switching experience

The feature to switch accounts is moving from the left navigation menu to an icon in the top right.

Revised actions menu

A revised actions menu attached to every file and folder emphasizes the most frequently used actions at the top. Toggles for starred and offline are now changed to buttons.

Who’s impacted

End users

Why you’d use it

We know that mobile devices are critical to getting work done, whether it’s at our desk, in a meeting, sending an email, or collaborating. Drive is not just a way to backup files to the cloud, but a critical way to easily share work, make last minute changes to content, or review important content on the go. The Drive Mobile redesign aims to make these workflows easier.

How to get started

Admins: No action required.

End users: You’ll see the new look coming your way soon.

Additional details

iOS users will begin seeing the redesign starting on March 12, 2019. Android users will see the redesign starting on March 18, 2019.

To help your users navigate this redesign, see this change management guide or download this PDF.

Helpful links

View the change management guide for this update. Also available as a PDF.

Using Google Drive on Android

Using Google Drive on iOS

Availability

Rollout details

iOS: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) rollout starting March 12, 2019.

Android: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) rollout starting March 18, 2019.

G Suite editions

Available to all G Suite Editions.

On/off by default?

This feature will be ON by default.
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Source: G Suite Updates Blog: Google Drive is getting a new look on iOS and Android

Brink · Jun 27, 2019

Lime scooters and bikes more cities on Google Maps for Android & iOS

Starting this week, you can see nearby Lime scooters, pedal bikes and e-bikes right from the transit tab on Google Maps in over 80 new cities around the world. When you need to travel short distances or that last mile, Google Maps can tell you if a Lime vehicle is available, how long it’ll take to walk to the vehicle, an estimate of how much your ride could cost, along with your total journey time and ETA.

Lime scooters and bikes on Google Maps are now available on Android and iOS in the following cities globally—with more coming soon:

U.S.:
Arizona (Mesa, Scottsdale), Arkansas (Little Rock), California (Monterey, Mountain View, San Marcos, Santa Barbara), Colorado (Denver), Florida (Miami, Orlando), Georgia (Atlanta, Statesboro), Idaho (Boise), Indiana (Bloomington, South Bend), Kentucky (Louisville), Massachusetts (Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Milton, Needham, Newton, Revere, Waltham, Watertown, Winthrop), Michigan (Lansing), Nevada (Reno), Missouri (St. Louis), New Jersey (Keyport, Metuchen, Plainsfield), New York (Ithaca, Queens, Rockaways), North Carolina (Charlotte, Charlottesville, Greensboro, Greenville, Jacksonville, Raleigh/Durham), Ohio (Columbus, Oxford), Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Tulsa), Rhode Island (Providence), Tennessee (Memphis, Nashville), Texas (Corpus Christi, Lubbock), Utah (Salt Lake City), Virginia (Harrisonburg), Washington (Tacoma), Washington DC.

International:
Brussels, Calgary, ChristChurch, London, Lyon, Madrid, Malaga, Malmö, Marseille, Mexico City, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Pamplona, Paris, Poznan, Stockholm, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Vienna, Warsaw, Wellington, Wroclaw, Zaragoza

The next time you need to get around town, check out Lime—right from Google Maps.
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Source: Now in more cities: Lime bikes and scooters on Google Maps

Windows 10: New transit updates on Google Maps on Android and iOS

New transit updates on Google Maps on Android and iOS

New transit updates on Google Maps on Android and iOS

New transit updates on Google Maps on Android and iOS

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