TechGoogle Maps unveils sharper satellite images, enhanced Street View

Google Maps unveils sharper satellite images, enhanced Street View

Downtown Warsaw in Google Maps
Downtown Warsaw in Google Maps
Images source: © Dobreprogramy | Oskar Ziomek
Oskar Ziomek

24 September 2024 21:01

More changes in Google Maps. Improved satellite images and more Street View photos are being added to the application. For Google Maps users, this means the ability to discover new locations and plan trips and excursions more effectively. The changes also apply to Google Earth.

The website 9to5Google reports more changes in Google Maps. Users will soon see improved satellite images and spherical Street View images from new locations. The changes also apply to the Google Earth application, where new historical street and satellite images will be available, including, for example, black-and-white photographs of New York from 1938. This is an opportunity for users to explore selected places from a side they have not known before.

The most interesting development seems to be improving satellite images in Maps and the Earth application through artificial intelligence and the Cloud Score+ model. As a result, the photographs should simply be sharper, thanks to the removal of artifacts that were previously visible due to the presence of clouds, shadows, or fog.

Importantly, AI "intelligently" removes unwanted shadows without removing the significant ones - indicating, for example, mountain slopes or other terrain breaks. Simultaneously, a large update concerns Street View. Fresh images from almost 80 countries, including France, Switzerland, Spain, and Argentina, are being added to the service.

The changes should theoretically be available and visible to users now, but as usual with Google app updates, it is worth being patient. The new photos may be available on the server side, so not everyone will see them simultaneously. Implementation in practice usually takes a few days.