Google Maps is introducing a new widget for Android that will be another use for the functionality that helped make a name for Waze, the other driving and mapping app that Google acquired nearly a decade ago: It will now show live traffic around you not just in the app but in a widget you can access on your lock screen.
Google Maps already provides estimated arrival and travel times, and indicates when there is less or more congestion on your route with yellow/orange/red colors. The live traffic widget will be an extra, user-friendly tool for users, to give them a better idea of how busy an area will be in case they need to adjust their travel times or even routes to avoid the scrum, without needing to open the app.
According to a preview released by Google, the square will show the current location with the famous Google Maps blue dot, along with the nearby streets and the color-coded traffic information. The traffic data is apparently being updated in real-time when viewing the widget, so you can see the information without having to launch Google Maps.
Furthermore, the widget will also support zooming in if you want to see the current traffic conditions in detail. Because the Android widgets are tappable, you can simply tap the widget and therefore zoom in and out without launching the full application.
As far as iPhones are concerned, Google Maps already come with a series of widgets specifically aimed at Apple’s devices as well.
Google Maps is getting lots of improvements lately, and earlier this week, Google also started the rollout of another highly anticipated feature. The application is now displaying toll estimates in a series of regions, with Google previously promising to bring it to more countries out there as soon as possible.
