Google just gave us the coolest Google Maps update yet

Oh my goodness. I know it may seem a little silly to some that I would get so excited over an update to Google Maps but I think this time it’s warranted. Here’s a hint, it’s a very well-rounded update.

If you’re a map nerd, or if you’ve watched this fascinating Vox video about why all maps are wrong, you’ll know that the “world map” we see most often is actually incredibly inaccurate — at least, proportionally. Now, I won’t get into the details but the gist of it is that there’s no 100% accurate way to convert Earth (which is a globe) into a flat rectangular map without some form of compromise.

Because of this, map makers had to create algorithms to translate the globe onto this flat rectangular surface. These are called projections and depending on the map maker, these projections will vary depending on what they want to accurately depict. The one thing all of these different projections have in common is that none of them are without trade-offs (shape, size, etc.).

One of the most popular projections, and the one Google Maps uses, is called the Mercator projection. This is a cylindrical projection that basically covers the globe in a cylinder and then projects each point on the sphere to a spot on the cylinder. While this generally preserves the shape of countries and continents, its representation of size is compromised. For example, with the Mercator projection, Greenland looks about the same as the size of Africa, when in reality, Africa is about 14 times larger.

The reason Google uses the Mercator projection for Maps is because it is good for navigation and its preservation of the angle of roads. A 90-degree right turn on the Mercator projection is a 90-degree right turn in real life, which as you can imagine makes it excellent for turn-by-turn navigation apps like Google Maps.

With this new 3D Globe Mode update, Google Maps now has sort of a hybrid approach. When you’re zoomed in for turn-by-turn navigation and a view of the city, it’s as if nothing has changed. However, when you begin to zoom out, the map will gradually begin to round out the further you go, giving you almost a GoPro-like fish-eye view before completely rounding out into a globe. It’s really cool.

From here, you can spin the globe around with your mouse and see all the countries and bodies of water in the size and shape that they were always meant to be. It probably won’t matter to most of you who use this app on a daily basis, but I think it’s really cool that Google even bothered to make this tweak in the first place.

Head on over to Google Maps to try it out for yourself.

[SOURCE, VIA]