Google's research division ran an experiment rerouting a small subset of Google Maps drivers across 10 U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago, spreading vehicles across more routes instead of funneling them onto the fastest-looking path. The published results, which appeared in Nature Cities, showed average speeds rose about 2% and travel times shortened by 0.7%, with highway-focused rerouting in Los Angeles boosting speeds by as much as 4.6%.
tech.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-08
iPhone users can check the Settings app's Battery section to see a breakdown of which apps consume the most power, including both active screen time and background activity. This feature has been built into iOS since iOS 8, so it works even on older iPhones.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-05
MapQuest is rolling out an experimental version of its navigation app for Android Auto, letting drivers view its maps on car dashboard screens instead of Google Maps or Waze. The move follows a surge in downloads after the company declined to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' following a Trump administration directive. MapQuest also confirmed CarPlay support is coming soon for iOS users, and the app is testing crowdsourced reporting of accidents and police activity.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-05
Google has introduced WeatherNext 3, its newest AI-driven weather forecasting model, which will feed into Search, Gemini and Maps. Unlike its predecessor, which updated every six hours at a 25km resolution, the new model can refresh hourly and pinpoint conditions down to 5km by incorporating live satellite data instead of older simulation outputs.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-03
Google DeepMind and Google Research launched WeatherNext 3, a deep-learning forecasting model that outperformed rival AI systems from Microsoft, Nvidia and ECMWF, as well as traditional forecasts from the US National Weather Service and ECMWF, on the Operational WeatherBench benchmark. Google says the model will soon power weather data shown in Search, Maps and Gemini, and will also be offered to researchers and developers through its cloud platform.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-03
The September 3, 2026 episode of 9to5Mac Daily covers recent reports on changes among Apple's executive ranks along with developments in Apple Maps. The episode is delivered as a short daily audio recap available through Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-03
A technical deep-dive explains how Go 1.24 replaced its previous map runtime implementation with one based on Swiss Tables, a hashing design originally popularized by Google. The article breaks down the internal Map struct, showing how fields like 'used' let operations such as len(m) run in constant time, and how copying a map variable simply copies a pointer to shared underlying storage.
victoriametrics.com
· 2026-09-03
MapQuest climbed from No. 8 to the top spot on the U.S. App Store this week after declining to comply with an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as 'Lake America,' a change Google Maps and Apple Maps both adopted. Sensor Tower estimates 632,000 U.S. downloads since the order, while MapQuest claims over 1.5 million installs across the U.S. and Canada combined.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-02
A teardown of Android Auto beta version 17.6.663424 reveals Google testing a new color palette for Google Maps, with a darker map background and a dark-gray turn indicator replacing the current light background and teal accent. The change also appears in dark mode, where the map surface would become even darker and the turn indicator would drop its teal tint for gray.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-02
Apple has updated Apple Maps to display Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' for users in the United States, following Google's earlier change to its maps. The renaming stems from an executive order President Trump signed after US-Canada trade talks collapsed, with Canadian users still seeing 'Lake Ontario' and the rest of the world seeing both names. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Trump personally contacted Apple to push through the naming change.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-02
Ford VP Alan Clarke explained that after evaluating Apple, Google, and other mapping providers, the company chose Apple Maps for native integration in its upcoming Universal Electric Vehicle Platform, including the Fathom model. He cited Apple's flexibility, improved map quality, and close collaboration on EV-specific needs like range estimation and battery preconditioning as deciding factors.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-01
Apple has begun labeling Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' on Apple Maps for users in the United States, following a Trump executive order that already led Google to make a similar change. The lake retains its original name in Canada and shows both names elsewhere, with the rollout still inconsistent between Apple's desktop and mobile versions.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-01
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