Google Maps has been updated with a subtle but important design change
If you’re feeling like something’s different about Google Maps right now, you’re not imagining it: Google has redesigned the pins that Maps uses to mark restaurants, beaches, and other attractions, giving many of them a new shape and color scheme. While the change is subtle, it’s hard to miss once you notice it.
Previously, pins on Google Maps had a long, narrow stem that came to a sharp point at the pinned location. The color of the pin was uniform across the entire length. Now, all that has changed. Pins are much shorter and come to a thick, rounded point at the bottom. Each pin uses a white background, with the icon in a colored circle inside the pin itself.
This change brings pins into line with other Google Maps accessories, like stars, flags and hearts. While they’re not exactly the same – these elements are completely circular, without a pin shape at the bottom – they now all feature icons in colored circles, with a white border around the outer edge. That makes the app a lot more uniform in terms of how its elements look visually – the old pin design rather stuck out like a sore thumb – though it may still be a little harder to distinguish pins from the rest of the items on the screen, especially if you’re looking at a particularly busy area.
Elsewhere, some pin types have had their colors changed. Museums, for example, are now purple instead of teal. Also, dropped pins – that is, pins you create yourself – still used the old, pointed design at the time of writing.
A small but noticeable adjustment
This isn’t the only change Google has made in recent weeks. In late July, the search giant changed the look of the bottom bar of Google Maps in the mobile app, removing a few items in favor of a simpler view. It also brought improved parking assistance to the app, as well as augmented reality views of historical landmarks.
And last year, Google Maps’ entire look got a major makeover, with new colors that broke with the app’s long-standing color scheme. The change proved to be divisive, with some users complaining that it made the app harder to use.
It’s unlikely that the new pin design will generate much ire, as it only affects one small aspect of the experience. One reason for the change could be that it allows Google Maps to fit more pins on the screen at once, as the new pin design is slightly more compact than the old look.
Since this appears to be a server-side change, you don’t need to update your app to see the new pin design. You can simply fire up Google Maps and take a look.