The new desktop version of Google Maps will look like Google Maps for iOS

BY Stefan Constantinescu

Published 8 May 2013

According to the Google Operating System blog, which isn’t an official Google site, but they do get quite a few scoops, Google is going to launch a redesigned version of Google Maps at some point in the near future. They even have some screenshots, albeit small ones, so you can get an idea of what it’s going to look lie.

As soon as I saw the photos, I just grabbed my girlfriend’s iPhone 5 and launched the Google Maps application because I knew I’ve seen this design language before. Sure enough, my suspicions were right. The new floating interface that’s present in Google Maps for iOS is what Google will bring to the full blown version of Maps.

Now for the obvious question: When is this new UI going to come to Android? You’ve got to think that it’ll happen this year, maybe even at I/O. It doesn’t make sense to have multiple designs running concurrently.

There’s also an uncomfortable realization that many of you need to make. Google’s newest Map software design didn’t come to the desktop first, and it didn’t come to Android first either. Instead, the company opted to show off their latest work on iOS.

If that’s not an indication as to which platform matters, I don’t know what is.