New Google Maps Color Scheme That Controversial Will Be Present In The Third Party Application

Illustration of default map style on Google Maps Platform. (photo: x @googlemaps)

JAKARTA - Google announced that it will update the style of the default map on the Google Maps Platform. The Google Maps Platform consists of APIs and SDKs that allow third-party websites, Android apps, and iOS apps to integrate Google Maps. The style of this new default map will include controversial color schemes launched last year, but developers are not required to use them.

At the end of last year, Google updated the Maps application color scheme for iOS, Android, and the web. Although this change is not so drastic, many users are disturbed by the sudden changes to the style they have used so far. These changes will now be applied to maps in third-party applications supported by Google Maps Platform.

In November last year, Google Maps changed its color to brighter overall. The main and small roads are now gray than yellow or white, the water body is turquoise than blue, the forest is pastel green rather than faded green, and the route is now bluer and more flashy.

In a poll, 69% of the 3,277 respondents said they didn't like the new color, where many stated that it made details harder to see. A former designer for Google Maps even expressed his opinion on the updated color scheme, calling it "colder, less accurate, and less humane."

Despite initial complaints, Google Maps' new color scheme has been widely implemented on Android, iOS, and the web and is likely to remain. However, this updated style is not yet widely available on maps embedded in third-party apps that use Google Maps as their backend.

Google plans to change that soon with Google Maps Platform updates, a series of APIs and SDKs that allow developers to embed Google Maps into their apps or webpages.

Google recently updated documentation for Google Maps Platform to add a notification stating that a new "map style will be coming soon to Google Maps Platform." The notification mentions that the updated style of the map covers a new default color palette and improvements to the experience and utility of the map'' and that all map styles will be automatically updated in March 2025.

New documents aimed at developers entitled new map styles for Google Maps Platforms'' have been published recently, explaining how developers can choose to join (or not) in a new style.

The document highlights how apps using ID maps, which are unique identifiers representing one Google Map instance, can be updated to the latest version of the cloud-based map style, which supports updated map style both on the web and on mobile.

Cloud-based map style allows developers to create customized roadmap experiences for their users without having to update the app code whenever they create a map style change.

Apps that do not use map IDs, on the other hand, need to update the API or SDK Google Maps that they manually embed to use the new default map style. The latest version of Google Maps SDK for Android, for example, includes a new map renderer that supports an updated style.

Other SDK Maps, such as the SDK Navigation for Android, Maps Static API, and Maps Embed API, will be updated later this year to allow options to participate in updated map styles.

Google warns that developers will not be able to opt out of the new map style after March 18, 2025. This means that the new Google Maps color scheme seen by Android, iOS, and the current web clients will be a default color scheme for all maps supported by Google Maps in third-party applications and websites going forward. However, Google says that developers are welcome to create a custom map style similar to the current default map style,'' so third-party apps are not forced to use Google's preferred style.

Customization is a major feature of Google Maps Platform. In fact, Google provides a variety of ways for developers to configure initial map settings, including camera positions, map types, displayed UI components, activated motions, whether light modes are enabled, and whether dark modes are enabled.

Depending on the level of customization, it may not immediately be clear whether the maps viewed in third-party apps or websites are supported by Google Maps. However, if the maps commonly seen in your favorite app suddenly change color to fit to Google Maps, then that's a great clue that they are using Google Maps Platform.