After two years of behind the scenes work, the new Google Earth has been announced and released today. The update brings vast improvements to the app for Chrome on the web and the Android app along with several new features. The web-based version of the new Earth is now available while the Android app, version 9.0 for those keeping score at home, is rolling out now to the Play Store. The app sports an all new icon along with the app improvements.
The banner new feature in this update is the new Voyager feature. Teaming up with scientist, non-profit organizations and storytellers, this new feature allows you to have an interactive guided tour of a locale within Google Earth. My personal favorite is The Hidden World of National Parks which takes you on a journey through these protected areas here in the United States and includes a combination of Street Views, videos and, of course, interactive maps.
Another new feature is Feeling Lucky. Tapping on the dice icon on the menu takes you to a random place on our planet that you can explore along with a Knowledge Card that gives you information about that location. You will find that the Knowledge Cards pop up just about everywhere to give you detailed
Google Earth
information about whatever it is you are viewing within Earth.
As you would expect, you can add particular locations to your My Places section in the app and on the web so you can explore them in 2D and 3D anytime you choose.
Along with all the new features, this new Google Earth has some mighty impressive 3D renderings of places. While it isn’t in every place in the world, you will find any major (and even smaller) cities available to you in full 3D along with national and historic locations. You can see the screenshot to the right to give you an idea.
You can read the full announcement from Google here and if you have Google Earth installed on your Android phone or tablet, you should see the update over the next few days. If you want to check it out in Chrome on your Chromebook, PC or Mac, head over to earth.google.com.
