This is how you use Immersive View in Google Maps

Millions of people use Google Maps to map out their travels both near and far. Over the years, the platform has grown into an incredibly useful and tool and recently got a major upgrade called ‘Immersive View’. If you’re curious about what Immersive View is and how to use it, you’ve come to the right place.

What is Immersive View?

Let’s start with what exactly Immersive View is. Google introduced us to this feature during Google I/O 2022. As the name suggests, it’s a way to get a more realistic view of certain locations around the world. Instead of just showing a view of the location, you get a detailed, high-resolution view.

The camera therefore rotates around a landmark, so that you get a 360° image of it. You can still zoom in and out and move the camera up and down to get a better view of the location. Tapping a location moves the camera to that spot and provides additional information.

With Immersive View you can view a building from every perspective

By using the slider, in this Immersive View view you can also get information about the air quality and how the route looks during the day as the weather changes. All information is streamed to you in real time, so you know what the conditions are like at the time.

This way you can prepare for the day by, for example, bringing a jacket or sunscreen. And whichever mode of transport you choose, Maps uses AI to simulate how many cars are on the road at any given time. This is important, because a route that looks quite empty during a quiet afternoon can look very different during rush hour.

What can you watch with Immersive View?

It is important to know that this tool only contains a limited number of notable sights. The list is constantly growing, but the focus is more on famous landmarks. So you can use it to see places like Madison Square Garden, Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge and other similar places. You cannot use Immersive View to view the supermarket or apartment complex near you.

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Does Immersive View also work in the Netherlands?

Immersive View is currently available in Amsterdam, Venice, Florence, Dublin and hundreds of other points of interest around the world, such as Sydney Harbor Bridge and Prague Castle.

Royal Palace in Amsterdam in Immersive View

Are you going to Amsterdam soon for a weekend? In addition to the well-known sights in this city, such as the Royal Palace and the Jordaan, there are also lesser-known places to view with Immersive View. For example, you can ‘fly’ over the Spoorzicht nature park, view the Oranjekerk, restaurant and arcade TonTon Club or pop venue Q-Factory.

How can you use Immersive View?

This all sounds exciting, but how can you watch it? That’s pretty easy. As mentioned earlier, you can only use Immersive View on notable landmarks. At the time of writing, Google is still expanding this feature to more locations. So there is a chance that you can’t see your favorite landmark in the new view yet.

All you have to do is search for the location in the Google Maps app on your phone. When you look up a point of interest, you’ll see a panel, with photos and videos of the location, popping up at the bottom of the screen. You’ll see a 3D representation of the location on the left side of the panel with a rotating camera. It says ‘Immersive View’ on it. Tap it and you’ll see the Immersive View rendering fill your phone’s screen.

And when you arrive at your destination, you can instantly check how busy it is or view the weather at a specific time by sliding the timeline. That is the bar at the bottom and on it you will see the time elapsed for that location. As you scroll, you’ll see the shadows move with the sun, and it’ll also watch the stars move as the night progresses.

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Why should you use Immersive View?

Immersive View can be a very useful feature if you plan to travel to a particular location. Let’s say you’re flying to Paris and you want to know what the weather will be like when you get there. Use Immersive View for this! Scroll to the time you arrive. There you will get a better idea of ​​what it will look like when you arrive.

Sure, you can check the local weather forecast, but Immersive View is just way cooler!

Have you already used Immersive View yourself? Leave a comment below this article and share your experiences!