【Dear Utol (2025): Catfish Episode 46】

Google Maps is Dear Utol (2025): Catfish Episode 46sprucing up its app, and one of the new looks is an eco-friendly route option. And no, that doesn't just mean biking or e-scooting somewhere.

Taking into consideration road conditions and topography along with traffic and congestion, Google Maps will offer an eco-route with a lower carbon emission. Sometimes the most fuel-efficient way will be the fastest or comparable, so Google Maps will default to that option. But if the eco-friendly way is a bit slower, you'll be able to see how much more you'd be polluting to shave a few minutes off your journey.

Google Maps partnered with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to help make the calculations with a new mapping model. It estimates carbon emissions for the typical vehicle in a region on different routes, taking into account things like steep hills or heavy traffic. The eco-routes will be on iOS and Android phones later this year starting in the U.S.

Via Giphy

As part of a "spring cleaning" of sorts, the Google Maps app will also look a bit different. Instead of having to toggle between tabs when searching for directions, users will be able to see all the different modes (walking, biking, driving, public transit, ride-sharing, and others) on one page.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

You can also star your preferred mode so that, say, biking or walking directions will come up first. Not everyone wants or needs driving directions as the default mode, after all.

Via Giphy

Some other new looks on the app: a weather and air quality layer. Instead of looking up the forecast for a destination, that information will be right on the app. AQI (air quality index) listings will be available first in the U.S., Australia, and India, in the coming months.

In this pandemic world, Google saw searches in Maps increase for food ordering and pickups. The search "curbside pickup" was up 9,000 percent from March 2020. So Google is streamlining grocery orders with Instacart and Albertsons chains into the Maps app directly. You can select pickup or delivery windows and then start shopping.

In Portland, Oregon, a pilot with Fred Meyer stores will launch this summer to make curbside pickups smoother. Users can notify the store that they're arriving and which pickup parking spot they're waiting in — all within the Maps app.

SEE ALSO: Google Maps now lets you draw missing roads and add real-time photo updates

In anticipation of more public indoor activities finally resuming, Google is launching its Live View inside (the outdoor version has been available since 2019) for more users at airports, transit stations, and malls. The mode is available at some U.S. malls already and uses augmented reality to layer arrows and other visual guides over the live camera view. Helpful when you need to get to the food court, three floors below. Remember that?

Topics Google

• Tech
• Life
• Social Good
• Games
• Science
• Entertainment
• Deals
• Shopping

• 'The Last of Us' Season 2, episode 4: Why Ellie sings 'Take on Me'
• NASA unexpectedly revealed a James Webb Space Telescope 'first light' image
• Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick just had an A+ Instagram exchange
• Alfa Romeo's Tonale hybrid SUV comes with an NFT
• Bargaining For the Common Good
• People online are getting obsessed with ‘Euphoria’ without having seen a single episode
• How to watch Super Bowl LVI without cable
• FTC warns of crypto 'romance scams' ahead of Valentine's Day
• Parental Controls: How to Lock Down Your Kids' iOS Devices
• Dad cons his way into getting a nice table at a booked restaurant

• Best and worst parts of EV ownership in 2023
• A24 to auction iconic 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' memorabilia for charity
• I tried a $7,600 desk that lets you get horizontal at work
• Here's the deal with the White House's confusing 'first snow of the year' tweet
• The Lucid Air Touring EV reviewed by regular drivers
• YouTube rolls out dubbed video feature for creators to upload multi
• How to have a threesome: managing emotions during group sex
• Apple receives patent for color
• 20 Instagram
• Something Awful has shut down forum FYAD, citing 'Nazi poo poo'

• Best rope light deal: Save 25% on Lepro N1 AI Smart RGB LED Strip Lights
• Dad cons his way into getting a nice table at a booked restaurant
• Guy at World Cup lights his cigarette with a literal flaming wallet
• Chrissy Teigen trolls John Legend with an adorable Arthur meme reference
• Shop the Shark FlexStyle for 20% off at Amazon
• A rare space diamond went to auction. The winner paid for it with crypto.
• 'Death on the Nile' is a (not on a train) wreck: Review
• Lena Waithe pays tribute to fellow trailblazers in heartfelt speech at MTV Awards
• Best rope light deal: Save 25% on Lepro N1 AI Smart RGB LED Strip Lights
• Rachel Maddow breaks down over babies being sent to 'tender age' shelters

• Character AI reveals AvatarFX, a new AI video generator
• Bose is entering new territory with the noise
• Hot knife ASMR videos are therapy for your retinas
• World Cup manager wins the heart of the internet, becomes glorious meme
• Sony launches new flagship XM6 headphones: Order them now
• 11 amazing details you might have missed in 'Pokémon Legends: Arceus'
• 13 songs that should be your next Pride anthem
• Giant rainbow crossing returns to Sydney after controversial removal
• Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K deal: Get 40% off
• Tesla now holds about $2 billion in Bitcoin