When it comes to iOS maps apps, Apple Maps can't compete with Google, which widened the chasm between them on Tuesday when it introduced the coolest feature of all: the cocktail button. Want a Manhattan? A frosty pint? No problem. Just click the button.
The cocktail button is but one feature contained within the first update to Google Maps for iOS since the popular app returned to the iPhone in December. To use it, just open Google Maps, tap on the search bar and voilà, there's a cocktail glass (bars) icon alongside the fork and knife button (nearby restaurants), coffee cup (cafes) and a gas pump (uh, what else?).
We tried it, and, sure enough, the cocktail button turned up our favorite after-work watering holes. Still more buttons for nearby places are hidden behind the three-dot icon Google uses to lead users to deeper selections and settings. Tap the three-dot icon and you'll pull up options for post offices, hotels, grocery stores, pharmacies, movie theaters, malls, hospitals and more. The nearby places buttons are all quite easy and intuitive to use and one more cool, helpful thing Google Maps has that Apple Maps doesn't.
This is the first time such buttons have shown up in Google Maps on iOS, but Google Maps for Android has had them for a while. That said, the buttons behave differently on the two platforms. On Android, they're hidden behind a "local" button and require a couple more taps to get to. Once you're there, there are only four buttons -- restaurants, cafes, bars and attractions near you. When it comes to these buttons, Google Maps on iOS has Android beat by making the icons easier to find and more plentiful.
Other updates were included in version 1.1 of Google Maps on iOS, such as an English version of the app rolling out to iOS users in Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. And Google has integrated a user's Google Contacts into Maps on iOS, which (for those who're logged into their Google account in the app) allows users to search for the addresses listed with each contact.
Now then, if you'll excuse us. We have to plan for happy hour.
