Apple has long had its own mapping application on iOS, but a lot of folks likely still use Google Maps for one reason or another. Today those people are going to head into the App Store on their iPhone or iPad and find an update to Google Maps version 4.9.0.
Perhaps the most notable tweak in Google Maps 4.9.0 for iOS is the inclusion of a night mode that will darken the navigation screen at night time, meaning you won’t get blinded by a bright white display when navigating at night. The feature automatically turns on at night time, so you’ll have to travel somewhere after the sun sets to check it out.
Other features in the Google Maps 4.9.0 update include the ability to label places to see them on your map and in search suggestions, support for editing the captions of photos that you’ve posted, and some unspecified bug fixes.
Google Maps on Android has had this night mode for several years now, and it’s actually kind of surprising that it took Google this long to port the feature to iOS. It comes in pretty handy when navigating at night because it means that the driver won’t be distracted by a smartphone screen that’s mostly bright white. The one minor annoyance is that it only activates at night, so you’ll have to wait until nighttime (or manually change the clock on your iPhone, like I did) to try it yourself.
