QUICK SUMMARY
Google is working on a way to make Maps more accurate. The orientation of Android phones can often be incorrect but should soon be addressed.
When using Google Maps, there's nothing more annoying than making a wrong turn. except making a right turn you thought was a wrong turn. That's because the device orientation on Google Maps has been off for millions of Android users - me included. Thankfully it might now be fixed.
Walking around London a couple of weeks ago with my Android phone, I found myself taking several wrong turns and doubling back just because my device wouldn't know which way I was facing. Needless to say, it was maddening, and unless I twisted my elbow to all kinds of angles I was constantly going the wrong way,
Currently, Android phones use the Android Rotation Vector to judge orientation with Google maps, but Google has apparently had feedback from developers about its inaccuracies.
So what's the potentially incoming fix? That's where things get a bit technical. Google explains it has added a new Fused Orientation Provider (FOP) API "that provides quality and consistent device orientation by fusing signals from accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer." Still with me? Well, Google has promised this new system will bring"more consistent behaviour and high performance across devices."
As long as your phone runs Android 5 or later (so everyone- if not you are a security risk) It should be a fairly simple change to roll out and as long as my phone faces the same direction as me, I'll be happy. Google Maps is a brilliantly useful bit of software when it works and this latest news comes on the back of the implementation of a brand new feature last week.
Now if only they could improve my lacklustre sense of direction in general. That might be a bit trickier.
