At Search On 2022, Google introduced new features for Google Search and Google Maps. Some of the features will initially only launch in Northern Europe, but the new combination search and a highlight feature for Maps will also make it to Germany.
Google Search and Maps with new features
With the new features of Google Search and Google Maps, the tech giant wants to further improve both services thanks to advances in artificial intelligence. In Google’s corresponding blog post, the new features sound pretty impressive.
“You’ll be able to ask questions with fewer words, or even none at all. Yet Google Search will understand what you’re looking for,” so Google. The Google search should be even more natural and intuitive to use.
Among them is the new Combi Search, which uses the camera and Google Lens to search based on captured images. This is a new option to use images and texts for the search at the same time.
However, the combination search is also able to combine texts, voice inputs and images. As an example, Google shows the search for a shirt, based on a photo.
Here you can simply add the keyword “tie” by text or voice to get a matching tie displayed. The combo search is currently available worldwide in English and will be rolled out in over 70 other languages in the coming months, then also in German.
Local component initially only in the US
Combination Search “Near Me” will add a local component to this feature. For example, it should be possible to take a photo of your favorite dish and use Google Search to display a restaurant nearby that also offers exactly this dish.
This is also supposed to work with other products such as clothing, plants or household goods, where local suppliers are displayed in the search – however, this feature will initially only be available in the USA from fall 2022.
Translation with Google Lens
Another innovation is the translation function using Google Lens. This will even make it to Germany in the course of 2022. Thanks to advances in the field of AI, not only texts but also images can be translated.
For example, you should simply take a picture of a shop window, a menu or a sign and the translation function will display it in your language.
“Thanks to a machine learning technology called Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), we are now able to seamlessly insert translated text into the background image,” Google says.
Unlike, for example, current iPhone models such as the iPhone 14 Pro (our review), however, a photo does not have to be taken for this. According to Google, the translated texts should also show up directly in the preview using Google Lens, where the translated text is superimposed over the images.
Google Maps with Immersive View
The 3D Immersive View for Google Maps, which man introduced in May 2022, will also be further expanded. It allows maps to be displayed via 3D mapping in near-photorealistic quality.
So far, the immersive view has been limited to selected cities such as Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo. Now, at least, a few sights from Germany have been added. After all, 29 of the 250 newly added sights can be found in Germany, including the Reichstag, Frankfurt’s Römer and Nymphenburg Palace.
Google Maps’ new Highlights feature also lets you select neighborhoods, while the app will then show you popular places in the immediate vicinity. They are based on the recommendations of the Maps community and include, among other things, places of interest.
The feature is called “neighborhood vibe”. It is to be rolled out worldwide, including in Germany, on Android and iOS in the coming months.
