Today, we’re announcing that we’re working with AT&T to establish Messages by Google as the default messaging application for all AT&T customers in the United States using Android phones. The collaboration aims to help accelerate the industry toward global Rich Communication Services (RCS) coverage and interoperability to offer a consistent, secure, and enhanced messaging experience for all Android users around the world.

“Many AT&T customers have enjoyed the advantages of RCS for years when texting with friends and family,” said David Christopher, executive vice president and general manager – AT&T Mobility. “We look forward to working closely with Google to extend these benefits to even more of our customers as they enjoy richer conversations with others around the world.”

Working together, AT&T and Google will continue the momentum to upgrade SMS with enhanced messaging features offered in Messages, which includes the support of chat features based on the open RCS standard. With Messages as the default messaging application, all AT&T customers using Android devices will get enhanced features so they can:

• Share full-resolution pictures from a recent event or vacation 
• Send a higher-quality video of that soccer goal and the celebration that followed
• Know when someone is replying to a text
• Send and receive messages over Wi-Fi or data
• Participate in group chats where it’s easy to add someone else to the conversation, or let someone leave, without starting a brand new thread

In addition to these features, we’re also rolling out end-to-end encryption for one-on-one RCS conversations between people using Messages and people who have chat features enabled.

For years, we’ve been working with the mobile industry and device makers to bring enhanced and secure messaging to everyone on Android. Today’s announcement—that AT&T customers using Android devices will soon be able to enjoy these features by default—is a major step forward.

A customized map can be key to delivering a frictionless experience that engages users and sets you apart in users’ minds–whether you’re a real estate company fine-tuning points of interest (POIs) on a map to help buyers decide where to live, or a regional pharmacy styling a map to ensure your locations stand out from the competition. That’s why we’ve focused on empowering you with these capabilities through features like POI density and POI filtering controls, zoom level customization, and even industry-optimized map styles. But we’re not done helping you take your map to the next level. Today, we’re making two updates generally available—a new Maps SDK for Android and the extension of Cloud-based maps styling features to our Android and iOS SDKs. Together they enhance the native mobile map experience and make it easier for you to deliver consistent, optimized maps across all your platforms. We’ll also give you an early look at additional features that we’re working on.

Update your Maps SDKs for Android for an enhanced user experience
Developers around the world depend on the Maps SDK for Android to power critical experiences like helping drivers make a delivery or helping retailers visually confirm an order’s shipping address. With consumers spending an increasing amount of time in apps, it’s more important than ever that mobile experiences meet the high consumer expectations that come with essential, everyday use. 

Today we released version 18.0.0 of the Maps SDK for Android, which delivers an enhanced map experience to app users, thanks to a new renderer. The new renderer introduces optimizations to our tile serving and rendering architecture, reducing payload size. This can help to reduce network load, on-device processing, and memory consumption for a more stable and smoother end-user experience. You’ll also see specific improvements with map labels. Now more fluid and clearly positioned, they pave the way for future marker management features. We’ve also enhanced overall gesture handling for better animations and smoother panning and zooming. 

Because the Maps SDK for Android continues to be distributed as part of the Google Play services SDK, you can upgrade to v18.0.0 along with all its improvements with no increase to your APK size.

A consistent cross-platform maps experience with Cloud-based maps styling for mobile
Earlier this year at Google I/O, we announced the general availability of Cloud-based maps styling for JavaScript. Since then customers have used the richer customization capabilities and efficient cloud-enhanced deployment workflow to power millions of mapping experiences, from a curated interactive map of Munich to fun virtual Easter egg hunts hosted by Cadbury. Starting today, Cloud-based maps styling features are supported in the GA versions of our Maps SDK for Android (v18+) and Maps SDK for iOS (V5.0+).

Cloud-based maps styling moves map customization code off the client and into the cloud–where it can be easily modified to use new features or test new configurations. This decoupling of client code and customization code makes it easy to manage a single branded and optimized style across any number of apps across all supported platforms. It also makes it possible to simultaneously publish changes to a map style across platforms and install bases with the click of a button. Cloud-based maps styling is the foundation for a growing set of new customization features including POI filtering and POI boosting, zoom level customization, landmarks, and commercial corridor styling.

Mobile developers can now take advantage of Cloud-based maps styling features and simple cross-platform customizations for their Dynamic Maps by creating a MapID in Google Cloud Console and using it within their Maps SDK for Android or Maps SDK for iOS. Dynamic maps loaded with a Map ID via our Maps SDK for Android or Maps SDK for iOS will be billed to the same SKU as Maps JavaScript API (Dynamic Maps) and covered under the same $200 monthly credit and volume pricing. Developers can upgrade to the new Maps SDK for Android and continue using client-styled maps for no charge as they always have. 

Additional capabilities we’re working on¹
We know you have a range of map customization needs to engage your users with differentiated experiences.  We’re working on developing more Cloud-based maps styling features–focused on marker capabilities, map elements, and data-driven styling–to help you do just that. We’re working on a new set of markers capabilities, easier pin customizations, marker collision management, performance optimizations, and the ability to build custom marker elements that you can use to quickly deploy deeply customized, highly optimized marker-driven experiences. For those seeking greater detail in their maps, we’re working on expanding the availability and customization of detailed street maps to even more cities. We’re also working on features to make it easier to programmatically style map elements by exposing new APIs to enable things like the simple creation of choropleths by styling Google geographical boundaries based on your data. 

This is just a peek into what we’re excited to be building for our developer community. While we’re working hard to bring these additional features to life, visit our website to learn more and our developer documentation to start customizing and enhancing your mobile maps. 

¹Product capabilities, timeframes, and features are subject to change.

Editor’s Note: David Moore, Founder and CEO of Navagis, shares his story of teaming up with the Google Maps Platform team to help people across Japan get vaccinated amid COVID-19 pandemic.

The roots of Navagis go back to Hurricane Katrina, when I led an Army Corps of Engineers team that deployed 3D mapping technologies with Google Earth to respond to critical needs on the U.S. Gulf Coast. As a Google Cloud Premier Partner we work across various industries and organizational types to solve location intelligence challenges with our software solutions.

The experience taught me how powerful mapping insights can be in protecting lives when disaster strikes. The COVID-19 crisis brought a brand new human challenge to the world and like other countries, Japan found itself struggling to vaccinate its 125 million people, while trying to communicate about where (and under what circumstances) people could get their vaccines.

Our end goal was to build a reliable, enriched, real-time dataset on Japan’s vaccination centers. Living in Japan, seeing some confusion and anxiety, I felt great urgency when I accepted the mission on behalf of our team.

From the very beginning we faced many challenges. Japan was experiencing unique difficulties in building an accurate real-time vaccine locator. First, we noticed the fragmentation of address information across thousands of local governments, from Hokkaido in the north to subtropical Okinawa in the south. Second, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare had launched a website of nationwide vaccination sites, which they were constantly updating data sources. We noticed the location information was prone to inconsistencies due to its dispersion at the local level, and different conventions among prefectures on writing addresses. In order to ensure the integrity of a massive amount of decentralized data, mostly in Japanese, we required on-the-ground presence and experience.

In addition, we needed to go beyond simply mapping the location of vaccination centers. Each one needed to be a one-stop shop for all information regarding vaccination, including opening hours, safety precautions, and qualifications for getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Round-the-clock teamwork builds a helpful, informative mapping solution

People might think of mapping as all about AI, advanced satellites, and cloud computing power. Of course, these are essential. What is less known is the massive amount of human toil and dedication that goes into making vaccine location information available especially for an urgent health mission for a country as large and complex as Japan.

Realizing our task was urgent, we worked with the Google Maps Platform team across time zones and over weekends to make this happen fast. In some cases a vaccine center was at a place where one would not normally expect to get a vaccine—like a pop-up location at a convention center. So we matched vaccine center addresses from the government website against Google Maps Platform’s Places data.

In under two weeks, we had identified, matched and marked tens of thousands of locations as vaccination centers around the country. Moreover, the power of the Geolocation API and Places API enabled us to provide richer details for many of the centers.

One of the unique aspects of this project was being able to surface our work across multiple channels to accomplish a single goal. We were able to work with Google to ensure the vaccine centers appeared on the consumer user-facing Google Maps apps and website, with information to help citizens learn where and how to get their vaccine. Our team was in hourly contact with requests such as “this center is mission-critical, can we get it mapped?” They were able to quickly get the site listed and visible on the map for end-users. This was a big human mobilization.

Powerful mapping APIs for pinpointed vaccine location information

We couldn’t have accomplished the massive task of validating 35,000 vaccination sites in such a short period of time without Google’s mapping APIs. The Maps Geocoding API and Places API enabled us to take location data from the government website, and quickly verify whether the location existed, or not, with up-to-date places intelligence.

The Places API served a critical role in two ways: breadth of information (covering Japan’s entire territory), and depth of information (complex insight into each place, such as landmarks and phone numbers).

The ability to take the addresses provided by the government of vaccination sites, run them through the Places API, and assess the address quality helped enormously. Google Street View, meanwhile, provided a further level of validation, enabling us to visually identify the specific locations where errors remained, and manually identifying clinics and hospitals before identifying their precise latitude and longitude within cities in Japan.

Looking beyond COVID-19

Japan went from being a laggard in global vaccination rates before the summer of 2021 to one of the leaders, with nearly 80% of the population fully vaccinated. And, daily confirmed cases had been as low as 100 nationwide prior to Omicron emerging globally.

The prospect of putting to bed our adventure with the Japan Vaccine Locator couldn’t bring us more joy.

Except perhaps, the prospect of helping people rediscover the joy of a return to normalcy—in partnership with Google Maps Platform.

For more information on Google Maps Platform, visit our website.

Editor’s note: Gordon Lucas, Global Head of Digital Engineering at Costa Coffee, explains how Google Maps Platform helps direct customers to each of its 4,000 plus Costa Coffee shops across the world, as well as streamline payments, and optimize deliveries.

When brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa opened the first Costa Coffee in central London in 1971, they relied on word of mouth to grow trade. Personal recommendations encouraged people who lived and worked locally to visit the coffee shop and sample what became (and still remains) our signature blend coffee, Mocha Italia.

Fast forward 50 years and we have more than 4,000 coffee shops spread over 31 countries. To make it as easy as possible for our global customers to pick up a Mocha Italia, a Costa Americano, or any other Costa Coffee product wherever we operate, we decided to create a visual app. We wanted the app to help customers across the world find their most convenient eat-in, takeaway, drive-thru, partner store, or delivery platform, and highlight which services are available and at what times.

Enhancing the customer experience with intelligent maps

We were already using Google Maps Platform products on our website to provide our customers with a basic store locator service. So when we launched our mobile app in 2017, we added more interactive geospatial features to make our customers’ journeys quicker and easier.

We chose to enhance our existing Google Maps Platform solution because our developers enjoyed using it. Google Maps Platform offered all the capabilities we needed to boost our solutions, and we were excited to see how we’d be able to leverage geospatial data to improve the experience of our customers.

Our Google Cloud Premier Partner, Snowdrop Solutions, supported us in deploying all our requirements so the app’s new features could be rolled out globally. We wanted to direct pedestrians and vehicles to standalone Costa Coffee shops and kiosks in supermarkets and gas stations. We also wanted a dynamic map feature to highlight which locations offered click-and-collect, drive-thru, and delivery services. We then wanted to link these services to our online payments systems, seamlessly integrating our transaction process to make it as easy as possible for our customers.

To that end, we used the Maps Static API to embed maps within our app, and the Geocoding API to convert addresses into coordinates to create markers on our maps. We also use the Places API to allow customers to search for a Costa Coffee facility based on their location.

A new route for customer satisfaction

We had one issue when it came to locating Costa Coffee shops, however. We noticed that some customers were selecting the wrong store to collect orders. Fortunately, Google Maps Platform provided a quick fix that solved this issue. We updated the service to provide customers with a map of their collection point upon receipt of their order, remindIng them which store to collect from. A tweak like adding a map to a receipt improves customer satisfaction. The drop in calls to our customer service is testimony to this.

Geospatial intelligence became invaluable in the pandemic

We had to adjust our service when the pandemic hit and Google Maps Platform was again instrumental in helping us. Because we had to comply with unique lockdown measures and travel restrictions across different locations, it could be challenging for our customers to stay up-to-date on the changing opening times and service guidelines of our shops. So we used Google Maps Platform Places API to show our customers which nearby stores, click-and-collect outlets, or drive-thrus were open, and when, during lockdowns.

Integrating this with our mobile ordering system also enabled us to promote COVID-safe contactless payments. Customers can locate a Costa Coffee shop, select, order, purchase, and collect their order or have it delivered to their cars without the need for any human contact. This reduces service wait times and minimizes the risk of transmission between customers and baristas. It also makes our employees feel more safe at work.

Geospatial data optimizes our entire operation

When the lockdown ended, our in-app order data showed a spike in demand, illustrating how much our customers miss their Costa Coffee experience. This data not only helps us to identify demand, it lets us track user preferences, informs where to direct supplies to meet a raised demand, and creates more accurate forecasts. This data can also help us manage costs.

Geospatial intelligence is also used to improve the experience of customers, from when they first look to order a cappuccino to when they arrive at the shop to enjoy it. We are using geomarketing to surface local offers. Say a Costa Coffee shop is trialing a new beverage, a pop-up can suggest users of our app try it next time they’re nearby.

Google Maps Platform has become integral to our digital operations. New features and capabilities of Google Maps Platform products have allowed us to continue innovating. The Costa Coffee footprint now spreads physically and digitally around the globe, and with the help of Google Maps Platform we can still offer the same tailored personal service that spurred the initial success of the Costa Brothers 50 years ago.

For more information on Google Maps Platform, visit our website.