HERE Maps has a new name, new look and new features

One of the most popular maps and navigation applications in the world has been rebranded. It’s got a whole new name and look, but I’m not sure how well it will sit with its fans. Are you ready to hear the name? Here we go.

That’s it. HERE Maps has now officially been renamed Here WeGo. According to the company, the name choice was simple: “very few regular users open our app to look at a map, they want to get somewhere and find the fastest way to do that”. Hence, WeGo, rather than Maps. That makes sense…right?

Naming aside, HERE WeGo also comes with a bunch of new features, key of which is the integration of car sharing services into their app. In selected cities, users will be able to book a car from the car-sharing service Car2Go. HERE WeGo will show you where the nearest cars are available on the map and an estimated cost of rental to your destination, the fuel level and other details of the car.

If you prefer to take a cab, HERE WeGo will also be able to get taxi information for your route including fare, wait time as well as a call button. Unfortunately, this is also only available in “many cities”, none of which include Malaysia.

The good news is, HERE has said that they will be adding taxi information for more cities and more car sharing services over the coming months.

Bicycling has also been improved and will now take into account elevation differences (difficulty of route) when suggesting your routes, giving you more useful information when deciding on a route.

Besides the new feature, HERE has also revamped the app’s UI. You get a cleaner and lighter coloured design for the route comparison screen, as well as a more straightforward way of navigating and getting to your destination. It all looks pretty slick, but I’ve always been a Google Maps/Waze user so I’m not too sure about what the HERE Maps user needs.

The new app is now available on both Android and iOS devices, while the web version will roll out soon. If you are a HERE Maps user, do let us know what you think of the new features. Also, HERE WeGo, yay or nay? Drop a comment!

[SOURCE, VIA]