{
  "id": 12967942,
  "title": "I drove 10,000 miles with Google Maps, and found 6 hidden features actually worth using",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/i-drove-10-000-miles-with-google-maps-and-found-6-hidden-features",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-08T22:00:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "XDA Developers",
    "slug": "xda-developers",
    "url": "https://www.xda-developers.com/drove-miles-with-google-maps-found-hidden-features-actually-worth-using/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "A person drove approximately 10,000 miles using Google Maps on their phone and Android Auto. During this experience, they discovered several features that they found useful. Some of these features were easily accessible, while others were hidden in menus.\n\nThe person highlighted a feature called \"Ask Maps\" which uses Gemini to answer questions about specific places, find restaurants, and more. According to Android Authority, this feature currently does not allow users to share a link to the conversation, but a forthcoming update may change that.\n\nThe person's experience with Google Maps led them to identify which tools were genuinely helpful and which ones could be ignored. They found a few favorite features that were either buried deep in menus or easily overlooked.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Fast Company",
        "title": "Trump’s Lake America controversy is driving interest to these Google Maps alternatives",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/trumps-lake-america-controversy-is-driving-interest-to-these-google",
        "published": "2026-10-08T13:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}