Google Maps might know the local traffic better than me, but for short trips around town, I can’t be bothered to turn it on. But thanks to the latest update to Maps on Android, I don’t have to.
Among a few other updates in Maps v9.19 spotted by Android Police, Google has introduced a new ‘Driving Mode’. While you’re driving around town without a destination dialled in, Google will use your frequent locations and search history to come up with a predicted destination, and then push traffic information or news about road closures as you’re driving, so you can adjust the route as you see fit.
It’s a neat (if creepy!) feature that should make driving around town a little more efficient; of course, if it makes more users open Maps when they’re driving around, it also means that Google gets more data to plug into its traffic algorithms (among other things).