How to measure distance in Google Maps for iOS

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measure distance google maps
Measuring distances in Google maps is now easier than doing it on paper.
Photo: Georgie Pauwels/Flickr

Remember how, if you wanted to measure distance between two places, you’d have to either a) spend the next half hour searching the App Store for a non-hideous free app that wouldn’t be too frustrating to use, or b) contrive to force Apple or Google Maps to give you more-or-less direct directions between two points?

Those dark days are over, because now Google Maps on iOS has distance measuring built in. Now you can finally see how far it it from here to there. And back again, if you like.

Measure distance in Google Maps

The measuring tool couldn't be easier to use.
The measuring tool couldn’t be easier to use.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Measuring distance in Google Maps on iOS is easy, but the option is a little hidden. First, you need to drop a pin on the map, which just involves a long press on any point. Well, almost any point. If you select a known place, then you’ll trigger the familiar informational panel on the left, which you don’t want right now.

Once the pin is dropped, you will see a new option over in the left panel: Measure Distance. Tap that, and the measuring commences. A target circle pops up, with a rubber-band-like line connecting it to the dropped pin. The target stays put in the middle of the screen, so you have to maneuver the map beneath it. It takes a second to get used to, but once you get going it works really well. The distance between the points is displayed in a bar at the bottom of the screen.

One thing to note is that the target snaps to your current location when you activate the measuring tool. That’s often what you’ll want it to do, because you’re measuring the distance from where you are to somewhere else. But if you want to check the distance from Timbuktu to Outer Mongolia, as I did for this example, then you’ll have some map-scrolling to do to get there.

Multiple destinations

Multiple 'legs' can be added by tapping a button.
Multiple ‘legs’ can be added by tapping a button.
Photo: measure distances google maps multi

While measuring, you can add points along the way, by tapping Add Point. This lets you measure routes, as well as just the distance between two places, or calculating the total distance for round trips. The total distance updates constantly as you move the target circle around the map.

And that’s it. The tool is simple, easy to use, and presumably accurate. And because one end is anchored while the other roves the globe, you can make quick comparisons with almost no effort. Which metro station is closest? Which of the exit gates in this creepy, foggy, deserted graveyard will be quickest to get to?

It’s hard too see how this could have been made better. The Measure Distance tool is so simple and intuitive, you might find yourself using it quite often. It’d be neat if Apple Maps added something like this. Then again, it would be neat if Apple Maps would color forests, parks, and woods in green so you could actually see them on the map.

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