Google has released an update to its Maps interface that changes the color palette for mobile and desktop users, making streets gray, bodies of water teal, and parks teal.
The updated color scheme represents a big change from the traditional look and feel of Google Maps and is more similar to the skins used by Apple Maps.
The update comes after Apple will allow users to download maps for offline use, a feature that Google Maps has offered for years, in the upcoming iOS 17 update in September.
The biggest change you might notice is the color of the city's buildings and streets, which were previously gray and white respectively, but are now white and grey.
The dark gray streets used to represent highways are reminiscent of Apple Maps.
Google Maps now uses yellow for roads with moderate traffic instead of highways.
If you live near a body of water like a lake, stream, or river, you'll notice that Google has replaced the purple and light blue with bright green and blue.
Instead, the colors of gardens and forests change to a bluish-green and the green of the leaves is abandoned in favor of a desaturated emerald green.
You can see this green in other banners and UI elements that previously used the bright green in the Google logo, but it's unclear why Google abandoned its brand color in this way.
The bottom bar of the map is shorter than before and noticeably lacks the dynamic capabilities of Material You's design language.
Aside from their similarity to the colors used by Apple Maps, the colors in the new Google Maps are no longer as easy to distinguish as they were before because the colors of water, natural areas and parks are close enough to each other.
For those who don't like the new look, Google Maps remains relatively unchanged in dark mode.
Comparisons remain between Android and iOS as they are two competing operating systems for smartphones, and this also applies to the applications of the two systems.
Android users can use Google Maps or Maps Go by default on almost any device, even those with custom interfaces like One UI or OxygenOS, and Google Maps features are often compared to Apple Maps features.
