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Google Maps

Google Maps
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Google Maps. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
Cars are using improved and integrated computers and operating systems. Photo: Shutterstock
Google

Automotive OS to the fore as drivers seek smartphone-style in-car features

Owners want their cars to be as functional as smartphones, and carmakers are working with software companies to make it happen.

Apps

What Google Maps’ new AI features are and how they will help you

Hong Kong society

Google removes some fake names pranksters gave to Hong Kong schools on Maps

Hong Kong society

Hong Kong officials concerned over pranksters renaming schools on Google Maps

Changes range from manga character’s name to ‘psychiatric hospital’, but authorities not amused as wrong labels pop up on Uber, Lalamove.

The trend first emerged earlier this week in Taiwan, with authorities on the self-ruled island warning such acts online could constitute a violation of defamation laws. Photo: Shutterstock
Malaysia

My Take | Is Malaysia ‘missing the target’ in anti-Israel boycotts of Western brands?

It is a consumer’s right to shun a global business, but it may end up missing the target as local franchise holders are the ones bearing losses.

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Censorship in China

My Take | Why a walled internet may prove damaging for China’s future

Foreigners having trouble making mobile payments in China is just a trivial issue when it comes to the cost of its walled internet.

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Google

Google to cut off access to user location for law enforcement and itself

An update to Google Maps will keep location data on a user’s device and backups will be encrypted, preventing the tech giant from responding to sweeping warrants.

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An illuminated Google logo seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland, on December 5, 2018. Photo: Reuters
Accidents and personal safety

Hong Kong boy rescued as he walks 8.7km home through country park during typhoon

Emergency services stage rescue after teenager using Google Maps to get home through country park during Typhoon Koinu dialled 999 as phone battery dwindled.

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United States

Google sued after US man using Maps app drives off collapsed bridge and drowns

Salesman Philip Paxson’s family is suing the tech giant for negligence, saying it had been informed of the collapse but failed to update its navigation system.

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Google

Google Maps faces scrutiny in the US amid antitrust suits

Google requires developers to use its mapping and search services together, a practice known as bundling that can violate antitrust law.

The logo of Google is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in New York on January 20, 2023. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong economy

Foodpanda deliveries in some Hong Kong areas disrupted by strike

A strike leader says the company has cut pay under the guise of a new payments system.

Striking couriers at takeout delivery firm Foodpanda vent their grievances in Central on Thursday. Photo: Facebook.
Hong Kong police

Iron Man-style hi-tech glasses could be developed for Hong Kong police

Hollywood superhero gadgets such as augmented reality glasses could be developed to give police an edge in battle against crime.

Internet

You make a geography-based Wordle clone. What to do with places like Taiwan?

Canadian web developer Abe Train created geography quiz Globle in the wake of Wordle’s success, but quickly realised he needed a rational framework for adjudicating geopolitical disputes.

US antitrust probe of Google Maps picks up speed

The US Justice Department has picked up speed on an antitrust probe of Google Maps to determine if bundling the service together with other Google software illegally stifles competition.

A Model 3 Tesla navigates morning rush hour using the car’s auto pilot feature in Los Angeles, California, March 20, 2019. Photo: Reuters
5G

Review | Huawei P50 Pro: one of the world’s best phones – if it had Google apps

Huawei’s new flagship smartphone comes with incredible cameras and a stunning design, but of lack of Google apps like Maps and no 5G mean it won’t be enough for most users.

The Huawei P50 Pro on show at a launch event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 26, 2022. Photo: Xinhua
Hong Kong

He’s a Hong Kong celebrity whose name no one knows (he works for Google)

Raf Ho has photographed thousands of kilometres of Hong Kong for Google Maps’ Street View, from driving its busiest roads to lugging heavy cameras up its steepest peaks.

Thailand

Thai royalists ‘dox’ hundreds of pro-democracy activists using Google Maps

The Google Maps documents, which included the names and addresses of nearly 500 people accused of opposing the monarchy, were taken down on Monday.

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Travel news and advice

Digital-free travel – rediscover paper maps and guide books

If you’re planning your post-pandemic travels, consider having a retro holiday by ditching your GPS and travel apps for paper maps and guidebooks.

A paper map –remember those? Photo: Steve Thomas
Huawei

Huawei's contested map

Chinese mobile and telecom giant triggers calls for apology following Huawei Mate XS foldable phone launch

Google

Is my bus hot or cold? New Google Maps features

Google Maps marked 15 years with the roll out of new features which include whether buses or trains tend to be hot or cold, as well as a ‘commute’ tab offering efficient routes for getting to and from work.

Travel news and advice

7 tips for solo travel inspired by a trip to Tokyo

Solo travel can be an empowering experience.
Australia

Tech giants like Google, Facebook in Australia watchdog's firing line

Watchdog has raised alarm about ‘substantial’ market power wielded by big technology companies and the ‘impact of digital platforms on society’.

App icons on a phone screen. File photo: EPA
Amazon

Amazon’s Alexa reviewers can access customers’ home addresses

Team that listens to portion of virtual assistant’s voice recordings has access to geographic data that can be used to track user locations, employees say.

First Person

Will we be lost without Google’s new augmented reality Maps?

A test of its unreleased pedestrian maps technology shows on-screen arrows and warning signs along the chosen route. So does it work, asks Nick Bastone?

Taiwan

Google Maps security breach not a big risk for Taiwan, expert says

Beijing already has satellite images of sites exposed by new 3D maps, and Taipei can gather its own intelligence on PLA activities through US and Japan, according to researcher.

Some of Taiwan’s most sensitive military sites have been revealed in Google’s latest 3D maps. Photo: Handout
Google

France fines Google US$57 million for breaking data privacy rules

Authorities said Google made it too difficult for users to understand and manage preferences on how their personal information is used.

A file photo of Google logos. Photo: AFP
Luxury Spend It

With an average home price of US$7.1 million, what’s it like to live in the Hamptons?

You will need to make at least US$853,738 a year to live in the exclusive area 2.5 hours from New York City off the East Coast of the United States

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Google

Google Maps: a lost cause for Indonesian drivers

Inaccurate maps, patchy internet and digital illiteracy conspire to make ride-sharing company drivers reluctant to rely on digital navigation – a rare bit of bad news for an otherwise booming industry.

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