It’s best to obtain your offline Google maps in your Pixel Watch immediately

Google has formally introduced the rollout of offline maps in Google Maps on Put on OS watches, together with the Pixel Watch 1 and a couple of, OnePlus Watch, latest Galaxy Watches, and extra. The function has been slowly trickling for a few weeks, nevertheless it ought to now be accessible to everybody and I feel you need to put it to good use immediately, identical to I did earlier than packing for a 10-day journey to Albania.

The reality is that nobody plans to be misplaced in unfamiliar areas with no connection, however surprising issues do occur on the most surprising of occasions. I wish to be ready, and since I reside in a comparatively new nation and wish to journey to much more unfamiliar locations, I depend on Google Maps lots to information me round. I additionally at all times obtain the offline map of my present metropolis to my telephone, simply in case I’m in an space with a spotty connection. However what occurs when the telephone’s battery runs out? Nicely, offline maps on smartwatches come to the rescue!

If the function is on the market to you, you’ll see a discover the second you open the Maps app in your watch. Go forward and scroll down, previous the latest searches, and to the underside of the choices. Proper above Settings, you’ll see a brand new Offline maps menu. Opening that reveals a brand new display screen the place you possibly can handle your offline maps.

By default, nothing is downloaded to your watch, and the app explains that that you must first handle offline maps in your Android telephone. So that you begin by downloading an space on Google Maps in your telephone and when you do, you’ll see that map pop up as downloadable on the watch, identical to you see with the Albania map under.

Faucet to obtain, faucet the checkmark, and also you’ll see the obtain progress. If it’s an enormous map, you may wish to depart your watch on a charger inside your Wi-Fi community to hurry up the method and keep away from losing battery life. As soon as the obtain is full, you’ll see the map’s full measurement together with a checkmark subsequent to it.

Now, you possibly can faucet that map once more to delete it or simply depart or not it’s and return to the primary Maps app. In my expertise, downloaded maps load a lot sooner on the watch once I wished to browse round and, as you possibly can see within the two screenshots under, they do work offline (stricken cloud icon on high).

Throughout my 10 days in Albania, I used to be in a position to make use of the map even when my telephone was away or disconnected. I may zoom out and in as a lot as I wished, proper right down to road stage, examine my environment in Shkoder, seek for locations in Tirana, and get driving instructions in Vlore. Having that gave me a bit of additional peace of thoughts, realizing that I may return to my resort even when my Pixel 9 Professional XL‘s battery collapsed beneath the stress of 1,000,000 day by day pictures of the attractive Albanian panorama.

The restrictions listed below are much like offline Google Maps on the telephone. You don’t see scores or opinions; you possibly can’t get strolling, transit, or biking instructions; and there are not any visitors updates when driving. I do perceive the limitation behind a few of these — scores or opinions would take loads of area, whereas transit and visitors require reside updates — however I’m nonetheless a bit miffed that I can’t get primary strolling or biking instructions when offline. It shouldn’t require an web connection to inform me methods to stroll from level A to level B.

Nonetheless, when you depend on Maps in your on a regular basis life, it is a welcome bonus and a nifty trick — even on a tiny show — to be sure you have a backup plan when your telephone is out of attain, or its battery is useless.