Google Maps is getting a new look, but this makeover delivers more than just visual gloss. The new-look Google Maps adds color-coding for different points of interest, and customizes the information on offer depending on where you're travelling, and how you're travelling there.

The amount of information available in Google Maps is astonishing. You can use Google Maps to find a parking space, use Google Maps to find wheelchair-friendly places, and even use Google Maps to find the nearest toilet. And now Google is simplifying how it presents this information.

Google Maps Gets a Useful Makeover

The first change means Google Maps will now present the information most relevant to the experience you're enjoying/enduring. So, if you're viewing the Navigation map Google will highlight the gas stations along the route, and in the transit map you'll see the locations of train stations. The idea being to lessen the burden on the average Google Maps user.

The second change sees Google adopting a new color scheme which assigns different colors to different points of interest. So the icons for restaurants and cafes will now be orange, the icons for shops will be blue, and icons for hospitals and health centers will be pink. Previously, all icons were the same shade of blue, so this should make it easier to spot places of interest.

Google is rolling out these changes to "all Google products that incorporate Google Maps, including the Assistant, Search, Earth, and Android Auto" over the next few weeks. And eventually the new style will also appear in "the apps, websites and experiences offered by companies that use Google Maps APIs as well". In other words, this is the new normal, so get used to it.

Make Google Maps More User-Friendly

This is a good move by Google, and it should make Google Maps much more user-friendly. However, I can't help thinking Google could have chosen a wider variety of colors, because some are extremely difficult to tell apart. It's as though Google believes blue is (almost) the only color.

Do you use Google Maps? Daily? Weekly? Or just occasionally? When you do use it, do you find it useful? Or could it be improved in some crucial way? What do you think of the new-look Google Maps? Are you likely to find it more useful? Please let us know in the comments below!