How To Travel Back In Time With Google's New Street View Feature
Google has added time travel to the already great list of fascinating features packed into its Google Maps app. There are already various ways to see places at different times, with some locations covering more periods than others. Now Street View scenes on an iPhone and Android phone are getting a fun and enlightening way to see how buildings and landscapes have changed over the years, even when viewed with the app.
A little-known fact is that Google didn't develop the software that later became Google Maps. It was initially called Expedition and was made by Where 2 Technologies in 2003. Google acquired the company and continued to work and expand its capabilities. As a result, the first Android and iOS apps appeared in 2008 with very accurate and helpful turn-by-turn directions that quickly made Google Maps a must-have app for any smartphone.
Related: Google's Upcoming Scene Exploration Might Be AR's 'Killer App'
Google Maps app can show 360-degree, street-level imagery of nearly any location. A relatively new feature is seeing how that same place looked on different dates. When navigating in a Street View display, the user can tap anywhere on the photo to see more information in a card that pops up at the bottom of the screen, including the street address. Tapping the button labeled 'See more dates' will bring up thumbnail images with more dates listed by month and year. Tapping any thumbnail will reveal the Street View recording from that time. Scrolling sideways on the thumbnails will show the complete list. Now an iPhone or Android phone can travel through time with Google Maps.
The same feature has been available in a desktop or laptop computer browser since 2014. The way it works is a bit different, of course.
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