Google Maps for Android is soon going to get a weird new power saving mode. This will work independently of your phone’s power saving options. It was discovered by a dive into the code of the latest beta release of Google Maps for Android.
It seems that you activate the power saving mode by pressing the power button of your phone. It may seem strange at first, but maybe the idea here is that this will replace turning the screen off completely to save you power?
Anyway, once it’s turned on, the interface becomes monochrome, and extremely minimalistic, as you can see in the screenshot below. You don’t even get the name of the street you are on or the next street. Just the arrow, ETA, how much time you still have to go, and the distance left.
The next Google Maps power saving mode
Of course, this hasn’t launched yet, which means it’s probably still in development, which means things could change before it makes its official debut.
The power saving mode will support walking, driving and two-wheeler directions, but it is unclear whether it will also support public transport. Maybe not if it stays in the same state of extreme minimalism, because it won’t even display your bus or train number, which would make it completely useless.
It should still be showing audio output though, so maybe the point is to keep it on when you’re driving at night so the UI is less distracting? Let us know what you think in the comments – what would you use this for?
source
