Google Maps is one of the best and most popular apps out there that’s packed with some impressive features like real-time routing, live traffic updates, and more. Just when you think the service can’t get any better, Google finds new and impressive ways to improve the service with some neat features. One such feature that was recently added to Google Maps is called Immersive View. This particular feature, as the name suggests, offers an immersive view to get a better, more detailed look at a particular location in Google Maps.
Being able to virtually tour a particular location could make it a lot easier for you to understand where to go before you travel. The feature, in case you’re wondering, essentially uses computer vision and AI to create 3D maps. It’s not quite ready for prime time yet, meaning you can’t get an Immersive View of each and every city or location out there. However, Google currently offers a 3D view of some locations and cities around the world, including London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and more. Luckily, you can use this feature to view those select locations, even if it’s not available in your city. Here’s how:
How to use Google Maps Immersive View
- Open Google Maps.
- Search for a city, route, or a particular point of interest (POI) for which the Immersive View is available.
- Tap the icon of the landmark (Buckingham Palace in this case) and select the Immersive View card below.
Google Maps will then load the Immersive View for that particular location for you, following which you can interact with it and explore. You can zoom in and out, double-tap to move the map around, and more. Many locations will even show you a bubble with a circular arrow icon which will give you a 360-degree view of that area in Street View.
But my favorite feature of the Immersive View feature, however, is the Time & Weather slider which you can drag across to change the time of day. You’ll even get a live preview of the weather, which I think is pretty neat. Here, take a look:
Some locations will also let you get a tour of the establishment from the inside, although the list of places offering that is rather slim at the moment. When you find a location offering an Immersive View of its establishment from the inside, you’ll get a joystick-like button to help you navigate through the place. It’s not something I would personally recommend over checking the available photos of the place in Google Maps, but it’s a cool feature to have in case you really want to get a feel for how big a particular spot is.
A neat yet limited feature
The Google Maps Immersive View is available on both Android and iOS, so you should be able to get a virtual tour regardless of the platform you’re on. It’s only available on the Google Maps app, though, so don’t expect to pull up an immersive view of a location on the web. I tried this on a bunch of phones, including the Pixel 7 and the Galaxy S23, and it worked very well without any issues. Google is still in the process of expanding this feature to a lot of places, so I suggest you check back at a later time when Google adds more locations to Immersive View.