Google Maps for iPhone update adds local features

WORLD MAPPING SERVICE Google Maps for iPhone has been updated with local search icons to help you more quickly find restaurants, coffee shops, bars, gas stations, and other places.

To access the newly-added feature, tap the search box within Google Maps for iOS, then tap an icon, and you’ll get a list of local businesses.

As part of the free update, Google has also added your contacts as search suggestions. Now when you search for the name of a friend or family member, and you have their address saved, their address will appear on the map. This will be visible only to you, Google noted in a blog post.

Another change is to the settings menu, which lets you choose between kilometers and miles.

The English version of the app, version 1.1, is now available in the App Store, for free, and it is available for the first time since launching in December in seven new countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE.

This article was originally published at The INQUIRER sister publication Search Engine Watch. µ

This article was originally published on Search Engine Watch.