Testing Google Maps’ new color scheme is very similar to Apple Maps – Ars Technica

The familiar Google Maps interface may start to look a little different soon. 9to5Google Google is reportedly testing a major redesign of the default map layer with a new color scheme.

The new color scheme looks more like Apple Maps. Today, Google Maps has a gray background for overland and white roads, but this new version has an almost white background for overland and dark gray roads, just like Apple Maps. This change makes a lot of sense: the gray color is much closer to the actual color of the road, and the darker color makes the roads stand out more on the map. All the colors have been greatly modified, although the blue water is much lighter. The green forest is darker. Major highways, instead of being bright yellow, are now a darker gray than regular roads.

Navigation mode picks up the new color scheme too, with dark green for your header and dark blue for your current path. Previously, navigation revolved around the colors of the Google logo, with Google Green for the header, red for the location pin, and blue, yellow, or red for the path, depending on traffic. The new design is more muted.

The new look hasn’t been widely rolled out yet, and we’re not even sure if this is a one-off test or a glimpse into the future of Google Maps. The last major color overhaul in maps was in 2020, and before that, it was the last major redesign in 2017so from the perspective of big tech designers who always need to redesign everything every few years, this is probably a good time.