Google Maps is one of those Google services, like Google Photos, that everyone can use and rely on. There might be better navigation solutions, but to have a free service covering the whole globe is more than welcome. It even offers Satellite, Street, or Terrain views, but users were wondering why the 3D satellite view went away from Google Maps.
For that purpose, we decided to dig a bit deeper into Google Maps and find out how to get a 3D view back. Learn more about it below.
How do I see 3D Google Maps on Android?
The option that you are probably looking for (3D buildings and terrain rendering) is gone from Google Maps and moved to Google Earth. If you have Google Earth installed on your Android, it’ll integrate with Google Maps and allow you for extra exploring.
There’s still an option to see 3D objects (kind of) on Google Maps for Android, but that’s only available in the Standard view and not really worth it. If you switch to a Satelite view, you should only see a 2D rendition of a map.
Many users were unsure why this happened but this is how Google rolls, trying to integrate as many apps with not-so-distinctive features as possible instead of unifying all into one.
Just look at the instant messaging disaster that was Hangouts, Allo, Duo, and Messages or Google Play Music and YouTube Music.
Nonetheless, it is what it is and we can all just come to terms with it or use an alternative app. So, to conclude, the 3D satellite view on Google Maps can be used with Google Earth integration. For that, you’ll need to install the Google Earth app first.
Follow these steps to view Google Maps in 3D:
- Open Play Store and search for Google Earth.
- Download and install the app.
- Open Google Maps.
- Enable Location Services.
- Choose your current location or any other location you would like to see in a Satellite 3D view.
- Now, tap on the hamburger menu and then tap Google Earth.
- Choose 3D and zoom in to see objects in a 3D view from any angle.
That’s it. Google Earth definitely has some things going on for it. While Google Maps is a more navigation-oriented map, Google Earth allows for detailed exploration.
With that, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to post questions or suggestions in the comments section below. We welcome your feedback, as always.
