Google Maps is full of features, but this missing routing option drives me crazy - Related to google, me, maps, but, drives

Google Maps is full of features, but this missing routing option drives me crazy

As an Android smartphone owner and Android Auto user, I rely on Google Maps for my daily commute. I hate driving in traffic, and as my luck would have it, my hometown is among the most congested on the continent. To keep my blood pressure low, I resort to backroads and alternative routes to skirt around any potential pain points. However, Google Maps’ missing custom route support has made this far more complicated than it should be.

Do you want Google Maps to support custom routes on Android? 150 votes Yes, I do. 96 % No, I don't. 4 %.

Why Google Maps needs support for custom routes.

Don’t get me wrong, Google Maps’ traffic data is useful when I’m behind the wheel. My partner usually plays navigator while I’m driving, alerting me to any potential and probable issues ahead. However, I have to trust my digital companion’s insights when I’m alone.

While I rely on the mapping app for easy routing around an area, Google Maps is not always the most reliable substitute passenger. It regularly navigates me right into jams and awkward situations it doesn’t yet know about.

While I rely on the mapping app for easy routing around an area, Google Maps is not always the most reliable substitute passenger.

My ideal workaround is creating and saving custom maps that chart several alternative routes between my home and destination. Theoretically, this would allow me to quickly select one of these get-out strategies based on which I think would be best for the particular time of day or given situation. But Google Maps wags its finger at this thought. The Android app doesn’t support custom route creation, even if its web portal does.

Yes, it’s possible on desktop, but not on mobile Creating custom routes on a desktop is incredibly easy. The Google Maps website lets me drag and drop various points on the route, manually bending and tracing the ideal alternative. However, Google Maps on desktop and Google Maps on Android are not equal.

Here’s how to and what happens when you create a custom route on the website. Visit [website] Input your destination and your starting point. I’m using two popular Cape Town tourist destinations for this example: Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden and Groot Constantia. There are multiple possible routes between these two points of interest. Create a custom route by dragging the suggested route (see the dialog above). Once you’re happy with the route, tap Copy link. To prove that the custom route remains as you’ve created it, open another browser window and follow the link. Voilà! The exact route you just created will appear. Notice how the website doesn’t adjust for traffic or influence the route in any way. Instead, it’ll simply highlight the route as you’ve created it. Below, see two examples of a Google Maps recommended route (left) and a custom route.

Compare this functionality to Google Maps behavior on a smartphone. When I tap Send directions to your phone, and open the link in the Android app, Google Maps will show the shortest, fastest route as it sees fit, not the custom route I’ve created.

I thought this might be a Google Maps app limitation, so I opened the link in an incognito Firefox window — I got the same result. Whenever I open the custom route on my phone, it defaults to what Google thinks is the best route.

Opening a custom route on Android is simply not possible.

This response to routing on the Android app also affects Android Auto. I can’t view, select, or save custom routes and read them while driving because of this limitation, rendering the custom route creation feature completely redundant on the desktop. Should I place my laptop on the dashboard and read off the custom route like that, Google?

My colleagues are also affected by this issue. It hinders them from creating walking routes through their city, planning transit routes, and plotting hiking trails. The mapping app that’s supposed to make navigating local areas easy makes the process utterly maddening.

The lack of custom route support hinders those who explore cities on foot or bicycle, hikers and public transit individuals, not just drivers.

I presume Google Maps defaults to this behavior because it makes the platform easier to use on mobile, but Google Maps isn’t always right. In fact, I’m having a hard time trusting Google Maps’ route suggestions in recent times. It often takes me through more congested areas than I would’ve considered. Sure, in the spur of the moment, in a city I’m not familiar with, this functionality would be and is useful. But in an area I know offers faster B-road alternatives, I’d want to be ready to navigate through these at the touch of a button.

This custom route shortcoming isn’t limited to Google Maps, though. Waze offers me smarter routing alternatives but doesn’t allow any custom route saves. Here, WeGo is also rigid in its recommendations, even though I like its UI.

Interestingly, Apple Maps appears to be one of the only major mapping applications that get this functionality right. consumers can create custom routes on any Apple device via Apple Maps and access them on their phones. This feature is geared toward cyclists and those on foot, but theoretically, you could use it as a driver. If anything, it proves that effective custom route creation is possible on mobile.

Are there any Google Maps custom route workarounds?

I have some bad news if you’re facing the same issue with Google Maps and desperately seeking a workaround. I’ve considered and tested many options, and none have been worthwhile.

If you’re hell-bent on bending Google Maps to your will, there is one (clunky) workaround. The Add stops dialog allows you to add multiple destinations between your starting and ending points. Google Maps will then guide you to each subsequent destination, one after the other. This isn’t ideal for simply navigating a congested grid.

The Add Stops feature is great for chaining multiple points of interest together, but it's no custom route replacement.

Instead, I’ve resorted to closely studying roads, intersections, and traffic flow at various times of the day and planning my departure based on that. This forces me to think on my feet, but I feel far more confident in my ability to navigate around problems than letting Google Maps take me through them. I just wish it offered more help in such situations.

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Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones go on sale again!

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This price point isn’t the best we’ve seen for the Sony WH-1000XM5, but it is a good deal, considering they haven’t been on sale for a while. They have been going for their full price for weeks until now.

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This is still a really nice pair of headphones, and we would argue they get really close to a high-end experience. They have pretty decent sound quality, and these headphones even support 360 Reality Sound. Bass is a bit on the heavier side, but that is something many of you actually like.

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The Galaxy S25 camera brings a major upgrade for preinstalled filters

You can adjust parameters like strength, color temperature, contrast, saturation, and film grain.

On previous Samsung devices, you could only adjust the strength of the filter.

The average person doesn’t care to fiddle with their phone’s camera settings. At most, they’ll enable a filter that fits the vibe they’re aiming for. Most camera apps come preloaded with a plethora of filters to choose from, and that’s true even for the best camera phones that cater more towards pros. The camera app on the Samsung Galaxy S25, for example, offers 10 camera filters by default, with eight more available for download. Unlike previous Samsung phones, though, the preinstalled camera filters on the Galaxy S25 can all be fine-tuned to match the aesthetics you’re going for.

Camera filters are basically presets that adjust the color temperature, contrast, saturation, and other image settings to achieve different stylized looks. They can be a lot of fun to play around with, as for most people, being creative is more significant than chasing objective authenticity. Filters are one reason why some on the team feel the iPhone 16 Pro has a more effective camera than the Pixel 9 Pro, which is why it’s great to see Samsung embracing filters and further enhancing their functionality.

Out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy S25 comes with the following 10 camera filters: Breeze, Pulse, Crystal, Shiver, Chill, Glow, Amber, Sunbeam, Shadow, and Shade. When you select any of these filters, you’re presented with sliders to adjust the following parameters: strength, color temperature, contrast, saturation, and film grain. Any adjustments that you make to a filter are saved, but you can easily revert them by tapping the undo button next to the filter’s name.

Default 'glow' filter parameters Custom 'glow' filter parameters.

If you select the “shadow” or “shade” filter, you’re able to adjust the strength, contrast, and film grain but not the color temperature or saturation. This makes sense because these two filters produce black-and-white images, so color temperature and saturation are irrelevant.

Amber filter parameters Shadow filter parameters.

Finally, the eight filters you can download from within Samsung’s camera app are less customizable. In fact, you can only adjust their strength, which matches what you could do with filters on previous Samsung devices.

Speaking of previous devices, I’m not sure when Samsung will bring this new feature to them. The camera app on the Galaxy S24 running the latest One UI 7 beta doesn’t have this feature, so it’s unclear whether the stable One UI 7 revision will include it. We’ll keep an eye out to see if a future One UI 7 revision brings this new camera feature to more Samsung phones.

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