Google Map's new multistop directions are already my favorite
A new update to Google Maps will let you add extra stops along your route, and reorder them if you throw in another.
Here's how you do it.
I'm already in love with a new Google Maps feature that the company announced this week: the ability to add extra stops along your route, and reorder them around.
It's simple enough: once you add your starting point and destination, a trip to the menu button and a tap on "add a stop" pops up another waypoint. Routing is adjusted, and so is your time projection. If you scramble the order of the stops, the app keeps up and recalculates everything to reflect the new route.
I can't tell you how many times I've started a route from scratch when changing course, or cross-referenced multiple (separate) routes to try to see which order makes the most logistical and time-saving sense. It's a headache.
But now Google Maps is offering to do that for me and I think it's terrific. The only problem is that this blessed new features isn't available yet on the two Android phones I've tried so far, and that's terrible, because I'm really going to need it this weekend.
(Google Play says I'm up to date with Maps version 9.27.2, but you should still check your Android phone for an update; Google confirms that this rollout is happening in phases.)
The company also promised on its blog post that Google Maps for iOS will get multistop directions soon.
Maps gets a second feature as well with this update. Adding notes to saved travel maps will help you remember where you were and what you did (like your trek through a city during vacation). This works from the Your Timeline section for people who have turned on Location History.
This article was updated at 11:04 a.m. PT.