Google Maps is one of the most useful Google services out there. While the current COVID-19 pandemic may have reduced our dependence on Maps as our daily commutes have gone down, the app still boasts of a number of features that allow it to retain relevancy outside the scope of a simple "map" (along with features that also make it a great map app). Google is expanding Maps' scope once again as the latest version of the app is preparing to show admission ticket pricing.
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 v10.49 includes the following strings which indicate that the app is working towards displaying ticket pricing:
<string name="ADMISSION_PRICES_ACTION_BUTTON_TITLE">Tickets</string>
<string name="ADMISSION_PRICES_EXPLANATION">Adult ticket options</string>
<string name="ADMISSION_PRICES_EXPLANATION_WITH_WEBSITE">Adult ticket options from <a href=\"%1$s\">%2$s</a></string>
<string name="ADMISSION_PRICES_EXPLANATION_WITH_WEBSITE_NO_TICKET_REQUIRED">From <a href=\"%1$s\">%2$s</a></string>
<string name="ADMISSION_PRICES_SEE_MORE_TICKETS">See more tickets</string>
<string name="ADMISSION_PRICES_TITLE">Official tickets</string>
<string name="ADMISSION_PRICES_TOOLTIP_CONTENT">Prices are based on typical adult admission and may vary based on the specific ticket types, dates, or eligibility for other discounts.</string>
<string name="ADMISSION_PRICES_TOOLTIP_CONTENT_DESCRIPTION">Disclaimer</string>
The strings do not restrict the type of events for which these admission ticket pricing will be displayed, so we presume that this piece of information can be displayed across a wide variety of cultural events and tourist locations. The pandemic certainly has reduced how much people travel for leisure and entertainment, but as districts begin opening up, this new feature can help broadcast the admission pricing. This would be useful as this pricing could possibly be different from what it was pre-COVID-19, and having that information available beforehand would be a big help towards planning travel.
The Google Maps update also includes these strings on the parking session feature:
<string name="PARKING_SESSION_ACTIVE_INDICATOR">ACTIVE</string>
<string name="PARKING_SESSION_END_TIME_PREFIX">until %s</string>
<string name="PARKING_SESSION_EXPIRING_NOTIFICATION_TEXT">%s left on your parking session</string>
<string name="PARKING_SESSION_EXPIRING_NOTIFICATION_TITLE">Your parking will expire at %s</string>
The parking location feature has been available for a while now. The parking session feature was also spotted quite some time ago, and it also popped up notifications when your session was coming to an end. We aren't sure why these strings were added. Perhaps Google plans to build this forward?
The Maps update also included a new string for Google Assistant's Driving Mode:
<string name="GOOGLE_ASSISTANT_DRIVING_MODE_SETTINGS_SUMMARY">Manage driving mode</string>
Google planned to phase out Android Auto in favor of Google Assistant's Driving Mode that was announced back in 2019. We're more than halfway through 2020, but that Driving Mode has yet to officially roll out. This string could indicate that Google is coming close to rolling out the feature, but the feature has been in development for so long, we can't really say for sure.