To make transit more accessible to nearly everyone, Google has officially introduced wheelchair-accessible routes in Google Maps. The new feature will give those with wheelchairs or other mobility needs an easier way to navigate using public transit.
To find the wheelchair accessible routes, type your destination into Google Maps, tap “Directions,” and then choose the public transportation icon. Once you tap on “Options,” you’ll find wheelchair accessible under the Routes section. It will show you a list of all that possible routes that accommodate wheelchairs.
The feature is currently rolling out globally in all the major metropolitan transit centers such as New York, Tokyo, London, Mexico City, Sydney, and Boston. Google plans on adding more wheelchair-accessible routes to its app in the coming months as they work with various transit agencies.
In 2017, Google added a way for users to add accessibility details about places to Google Maps and Search. You can open the main menu on Google Maps, tap “Your contributions” and then “Uncover missing info,” and sort by “Accessibility” to find places near you that are missing this information. You can add information under different categories as well.
When you need to find out if a place you’re visiting has accessibility features, you can either find it on Google Maps or the Search tool and open the business listing. Once you tap on the two-line description and scroll down to the accessibility section, you will know the place doesn’t have a feature if you see a no symbol next to it.
In September, Local Guides from across the globe gathered at 200 global meet-ups to answer accessibility questions as well. This included whether a place has a step-free entrance or an accessible restroom for more than 12 million places.
But the initiative for wheelchair accessibility started in 2016 when Google product manager, Rio Akasaka, spent a year putting together accessibility guidelines for Maps. Prior to this, Google had already been asking people questions about specific businesses they recently visited — one of them being whether or not a location is wheelchair accessible.
Google has also been capturing and updating Street View imagery of transit stations and centers, to allow people to preview their destination beforehand. By adding even more accessibility information, those in wheelchairs, on crutches, or pushing strollers will have an easier time traveling.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.
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The rumored camera setup includes a single 48MP rear camera and a possible 24MP selfie camera. There's new hardware to consider, but buyers hoping Apple would extend that upgrade generosity to smoother scrolling could be disappointed.