Google Maps’ AR directions will show landmarks soon to help orient you better

Google is adding a few important features to Live View which is the augmented reality (AR) mode of Google Maps. With Live View, you can hold your phone up and see visual overlays over the real world as it is captured through your smartphone’s camera viewfinder.

The biggest addition to this lot is the ability to see visual cues corresponding to notable landmarks in your field of view. This comes along with information about how far away a landmark might be from you and how to get there.

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Product manager for Google Maps, Mirko Ranieri explained that these landmarks include iconic places like the Empire State Building in New York, the Pantheon in Rome and other easily recognisable places like local parks and tourist attractions.

The feature will go live on both Android and iOS soon with support in 25 cities, including Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Dubai, Florence, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Kyoto, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Munich, New York, Osaka, Paris, Prague, Rome, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo and Vienna. More cities are going to be added to the list soon.

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Another feature coming to Live View is the ability to go right into the Live View mode from transit directions, so you can more easily see how you’re placed when you, for example, leave a subway station and find yourself at a busy and potentially confusing intersection.

Google has also added a couple more things to Live View including location sharing and more accurate pins. Location sharing will allow you to see overlaid distance from and directions to a friend who’s shared where they are on Google Maps. Accurate pins will help with notable streets, landmarks and other places that involve changes in elevation appear more accurately in Live View when set as destinations.

Both of those features, alongside Live View in the transit tab, are arriving in the coming weeks.