Google Maps controversial new color scheme is coming to third-party apps

[phillynews215]

• Google has announced that its updating the default map style in the Google Maps Platform.
• The Google Maps Platform is composed of APIs and SDKs that let third-party websites, Android apps, and iOS apps integrate Google Maps.
• The new default map style will include the controversial revamped color palette that rolled out last year, but developers arent forced to use it.

Late last year, Google revamped the color scheme of its Maps app for iOS, Android, and the web. Although the revamp wasnt that drastic, many users were annoyed by the sudden changes to the styling theyd been used to for so long. Those changes are now coming to maps within third-party apps that are powered by the Google Maps Platform.

Back in November of last year, we reported that Google Maps had changed its colors to be brighter overall. Major and minor roads were now shades of gray instead of yellow or white, bodies of water were now turquoise instead of blue, forests were now a pastel green instead of a muted green, and routes were now a brighter and more jarring blue. When we polled our readers about these changes, an overwhelming 69% of 3,277 respondents said that they didnt like the new colors, with many stating that it made details harder to see. A former designer for Google Maps even chimed in to express her opinion on the revamped color scheme, calling it “colder, less accurate, and less human.”




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