Yesterday, Google highlighted a slew of new features coming to Maps, but the company didn't mention one important detail in its announcement: The compass is back. The classic orientation widget is back by popular demand, and it's more reliable than ever.
The compass was a pretty obvious feature for a mapping app, but due to reliability issues, its usefulness was also pretty questionable. The Google Maps team experimented with removing the compass in January 2019 for some users before removing it entirely about two months later. online discussing the issue, expressing their displeasure or asking for advice on how to bring it back.
See also: Google Maps: New feature guides you indoors
It may have taken two years and an unknown number of feedback reports, but according to a community manager on the Google Maps help forums, overwhelming user demand is responsible for bringing back the compass.
See also: Google Maps: How to add a place that isn't on the map
The post indicates that it will work with Google Maps version 10.62 and above, but it also appears to work on some slightly older versions. However, it disappeared briefly during testing.
See also: How to save your favorite places on Google Maps
Regardless of the details, at least two of our phones still weren't pointing in the right direction, even after calibration. It can be an extremely useful tool, but just remember to be careful as it's not very accurate.
Information source: androidpolice.com
