Google Maps is one of Google's best software products, one that sees wide adoption across the globe thanks to its ease of use and relative accuracy. The app has steadily improved over the years to make our commutes and our lives easier, to the point that it has become a literal habit for many to fire up Maps as soon as they step out of the house. After working towards new features such as “Eyes Free” Walking Navigation Mode, Incognito Mode (rolled out), and easier anomaly reporting, Google Maps now appears to be working towards a Dark Mode and the ability to star a transit line.
Dark Mode
Dark Mode has been all the rage these days, and Google Maps may soon be catching up with the trend. Currently, the main Maps UI primarily uses a white background and adopts a dark theme for navigation only, which may not suit everyone's tastes. As spotted by AndroidPolice, Google is teasing dark mode for Maps through a post on its official Instagram page:
Transit Line Feature
An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by the developers in a future build.
Google Maps v10.27.0 contains the following strings:
New Strings within Google Maps
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_CANNOT_STAR_LINE_IN_INCOGNITO_TOAST">You can't star lines while Incognito mode is on.</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_CANNOT_STAR_STATION_IN_INCOGNITO_TOAST">You can't star stations while Incognito mode is on.</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_CLEAR_FILTER_BUTTON">Clear filters</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_DEPART_FROM_HERE_TEXT">Depart from here</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINES_TAB_HEADER">Lines</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_COLLAPSE_CARD_BUTTON_TEXT">Show fewer %s %s details</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_COLLAPSE_CARD_BUTTON_TEXT_WITHOUT_LINE_NAME">Show less</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_COLLAPSE_CARD_BUTTON_TEXT_WITH_LINE_NAME_UNKNOWN_VEHICLE_TYPE">Show fewer %s details</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_EXPAND_CARD_BUTTON_TEXT">Show more %s %s details</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_EXPAND_CARD_BUTTON_TEXT_WITHOUT_LINE_NAME">Show more line details</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_EXPAND_CARD_BUTTON_TEXT_WITH_LINE_NAME_UNKNOWN_VEHICLE_TYPE">Show more %s details</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_NAME_VEHICLE_TYPE_TEXT">%1$s %2$s</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_SEARCH_BUTTON_TEXT">See lines here</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_STARRED_TOAST">Line starred & pinned to top</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_STARRED_TOAST_ACTION_TEXT">View</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_STAR_BUTTON_TEXT">Star the %s %s</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_STAR_BUTTON_TEXT_WITHOUT_LINE_NAME">Star the line</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_STAR_BUTTON_TEXT_WITH_LINE_NAME_UNKNOWN_VEHICLE_TYPE">Star the %s</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_STAR_BUTTON_TOOLTIP_TEXT">Tap to save</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_STATION_TAB_ACTIVATED_STATUS_TEXT">%s tab selected</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_STATION_TAB_INACTIVATED_STATUS_TEXT">%s tab not selected</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_UNSTAR_BUTTON_TEXT">Unstar the %s %s</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_UNSTAR_BUTTON_TEXT_WITHOUT_LINE_NAME">Unstar the line</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_LINE_UNSTAR_BUTTON_TEXT_WITH_LINE_NAME_UNKNOWN_VEHICLE_TYPE">Unstar the %s</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_MODE_FILTER_BUS_OPTION">Bus</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_MODE_FILTER_FERRY_OPTION">Ferry</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_MODE_FILTER_RAIL_OPTION">Rail</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_MODE_FILTER_SUBWAY_OPTION">Subway / Metro</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_MODE_FILTER_TRAIN_OPTION">Train</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_MODE_FILTER_TRAM_LIGHT_RAIL_OPTION">Tram / Light rail</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NEARBY_LINES_LIST_HEADER">Lines in this area</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NEARBY_STATIONS_LIST_HEADER">Stations in this area</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_CONNECTION_ERROR_MESSAGE">Can't connect to Maps</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_CONNECTION_ERROR_SUBTITLE_MESSAGE">Check your internet connection, or try again in a few minutes</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_CONNECTION_TRY_AGAIN_BUTTON">Try again</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_DEPARTURES_NEARBY_ERROR_MESSAGE">No upcoming departures in this area</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_NEARBY_LINES_ERROR_MESSAGE">No nearby lines found</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_NEARBY_STATIONS_ERROR_MESSAGE">No nearby stations found</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_STARRED_LINES_ERROR_MESSAGE">No starred lines</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_STARRED_LINES_ERROR_SUBTITLE">Star the lines you use most to see them here</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_STARRED_LINES_WHEN_INCOGNITO_ERROR_MESSAGE">Incognito mode is on</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_STARRED_LINES_WHEN_INCOGNITO_ERROR_SUBTITLE">Your starred lines aren't available when Incognito mode is on</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_STARRED_LINES_WHEN_SIGNED_OUT_ERROR_MESSAGE">To see your starred lines, sign in</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_STARRED_STATIONS_ERROR_MESSAGE">No starred stations</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_STARRED_STATIONS_ERROR_SUBTITLE">Star the stations you use most to see them here</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_STARRED_STATIONS_WHEN_INCOGNITO_ERROR_MESSAGE">Incognito mode is on</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_STARRED_STATIONS_WHEN_INCOGNITO_ERROR_SUBTITLE">Your starred stations aren't available when Incognito mode is on</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_STARRED_STATIONS_WHEN_SIGNED_OUT_ERROR_MESSAGE">To see your starred stations, sign in</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_NO_UPCOMING_DEPARTURES_TEXT">No upcoming departures</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_ONBOARDING_CARD_DISMISS_BUTTON_DESCRIPTION">Dismiss</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_ONBOARDING_CARD_HEADING">Quickly check bus and train times</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_ONBOARDING_CARD_SUBTITLE">Star lines to see them first</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_SEE_MORE_DEPARTURES_TEXT">More departures</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_SIDE_MENU_NAME">Your transit</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_SIGN_IN_BUTTON_TEXT">Sign in</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_SIGN_IN_TO_STAR_A_TRANSIT_LINE_PROMPT">To see your starred lines, sign in</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_SINGLE_LETTER_LINE_NAME_VEHICLE_TYPE_TEXT">the %1$s %2$s</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_STARRED_VIEW_TOGGLE">Starred</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_STATIONS_SEARCH_BUTTON_TEXT">See stations here</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_STATIONS_TAB_HEADER">Stations</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_STATION_COLLAPSE_CARD_BUTTON">Show fewer %s details</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_STATION_EXPAND_CARD_BUTTON">Show more %s details</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_STATION_STARRED_TOAST">Station starred & pinned to top</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_STATION_STARRED_TOAST_ACTION_TEXT">View</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_STATION_STAR_BUTTON_TEXT">Star %s</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_STATION_UNSTAR_BUTTON_TEXT">Unstar %s</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_TURN_OFF_INCOGNITO_BUTTON_TEXT">Turn off Incognito</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_UNABLE_TO_LOAD_LINE_DETAILS_TEXT">Can't load details for this line, try again later</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_WIDER_SEARCH_BUTTON_TEXT">Search a wider area</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_WIDER_SEARCH_CARD_TEXT">Don't see your line?</string>
<string name="TRANSIT_SPACE_WIDER_SEARCH_STATION_CARD_TEXT">Don't see your station?</string>
Starring a line in this context refers to marking a frequently used medium of travel, and a frequently used path of travel in particular, as a favorite. Users will be able to view nearby public transit routes of buses, ferries, rail/train/subway/metro, and tram/light rail. Marking a route as your favorite will quickly let you check bus and train times, for instance, as well as upcoming stations/stops on that route when you are traveling. We presume that this feature will be massively useful to users who prefer using a particular public transit route regularly.
We do not know when this feature will go live.
Thanks to PNF Software for providing us a license to use JEB Decompiler, a professional-grade reverse engineering tool for Android applications.
