Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Google Maps places delivery and takeout front and center

Trevor Mogg
By

If you’re one of the many millions who’s been told by the authorities to lock down during the coronavirus crisis, you’ve no doubt been busy exploring different ways to get the grub in.

Whether it’s trips to the supermarket, online grocery orders, meal deliveries, takeout, or a combination of these, these days there are plenty of ways to get yourself properly fed.

Related Videos

To make it a little easier to find out what’s available in your local area, Google Maps has made its “delivery” and “takeout” buttons more prominent, helping you to surface these options in a single tap.

Related

First spotted by 9to5Mac, the buttons have actually been there for some time, but responding to how the virus is forcing so many people around the world into lockdown, the web giant has pushed them front and center on its Maps app for users globally.

And of course, you could always search in the usual way for such options, but the newly gained prominence of the buttons makes it a little easier to bring up the relevant information.

The buttons appear on a carousel that Google Maps rolled out last year. Other options include cafes, restaurants, pharmacies, and hotels, among others, all of them accessible by swiping backward and forward through the carousel.

Placing the buttons in a more prominent position should also help local food businesses that are struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic. Many have been forced to close their doors to diners, though in most cases they can keep the kitchen open for takeout, or deliveries using their own personnel or via services like Uber Eats and Grubhub.

Google Maps for mobile and web has also added a link that in a single tap takes you to a search page with verified information for the coronavirus, which is officially known as COVID-19.

If you’re looking for more options regarding meal delivery, be sure to check out Digital Trends’ recently updated page listing eight recommended online services. To limit contact with others, some apps, among them Postmates and Instacart, even offer a “Leave at my door” option. Bon appétit!

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Taco Bell’s Xbox Game Pass-style pass will put a taco in your belly daily for $10 a month
taco bell subscription ten dollars for thirty days

Taco Bell now has a subscription that lets you pay a fixed monthly price to munch on its offerings for a month. Now, before you start raging at the idea on Twitter and furiously type a lengthy Reddit post, hear me out. You pay just $10 and get to enjoy one taco a day, for 30 days in a row. The subscription service also has a delightfully apt name — Taco Lover’s Pass.

Here's the basic fast-food calculus model to explain the whole idea. A Crunchy Taco Supreme costs $2.19. If you pay a handsome $10 for the Taco Lover’s Pass, you get to eat about $65 worth of tacos. Put it simply, you'll save about $55 a month, while also pumping 190 calories into your body each day. “What a supreme deal,” says the press release, though some on Twitter had a different opinion.

Read more
How to use Google Maps
Google Assistant on Google Maps

Google Maps has long served as the go-to navigation tool for millions of phones, tablets, cars, and smart wearables. While everyone is probably familiar with using Google Maps to get from point A to point B, there are a multitude of multitool-like extras hiding under the hood that are worth highlighting. Over the years, Google has added features that allow you to save your favorite places, share your location with friends, and get personalized recommendations. Here is how to use Google Maps more useful but lesser-known features, like incognito mode, AR live view, sharing your location in real-time, and even finding the nearest COVID vaccination and testing site.
How to play your tunes

With all the understandable focus on driving directions and the depth of Google Maps itself, it's easy to forget Google Maps also features music controls for popular music services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music (Android only). Here's how to get the party started.

Read more
How does DoorDash work?
Doordash

DoorDash is an on-demand food delivery service powered by gig workers. It is, to put it simply, an Uber for food (much like Uber Eats). Founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Francisco, the DoorDash app lets you order food from a variety of nearby participating restaurants. It also lets people sign up to become food deliverers (nicknamed Dashers) and, obviously, lets restaurants sign up to have their food delivered to customers.

According to a November 2019 report from the consumer analytics firm Second Measure, it's the most popular app-based food delivery service in the U.S., ahead of Uber Eats and GrubHub. The app currently holds about 38% of the U.S. food delivery market and has only become more popular in 2021 due to changing times and lockdown needs like safe, contactless food delivery. If you haven't tried it yet, here's what you should know.
For eaters

Read more