Gas prices, hotel amenities coming soon to Google Maps
This feature and others are hiding in the code of Google Maps version 9.17. The core of that update was about performance upgrades following the new navigation features that came with version 9.16.
An APK teardown shows that Google may add diesel, midrange, and premium prices when searching for gas on Google Maps. You can already see gas prices for stations listed on Maps, but right now you’re limited to the standard 87 Octane.
With hotels, a new series of icons are at the ready go give you a better idea of what that inn, bed-and-breakfast, or hotel offers in the way of amenities. Android Police grabbed a batch of the forthcoming images:
Similar icons are pretty useful in other travel apps so it could make Google Maps a more attractive place to scout for a somewhere to stay, especially if it’s a last-second decision.
You can wait for version 9.17 to hit the Play Store, or grab it now from APK Mirror.
Why this matters: Google Maps is just as much about helping you find out things to do and places to spend the night along with its benchmark navigation capability. While it does that well, and of course includes pretty solid turn-by-turn directions, Google would like to nudge you to spend more time in Maps as your on-the-town guide instead of Yelp or other competing services.