Google Maps adds offline search and navigation for Android, coming soon to iOS

Google is finally rolling out the offline navigation and search to Google Maps for Android. The feature allows users to download and save a geographic area and navigate without the need of a data connection.

Before that users were only able to download and view an area of the map offline, now users can get full turn-by-turn navigation, search and find useful information such as hours of operation, contact info and ratings for specific places.

To use this feature you will first have to download the specific area of the map by searching for a city or country, and then tapping the download button.

Once the area is downloaded, you will be able to navigate that are offline. You will get full turn-by-turn direction, search destinations within that area and everything else offline.

The feature was first previewed at Google I/O in May and Google will continue to add more features to continue to enhance user experience. The feature is now gradually rolling out to Android users and will soon starts rolling out for iOS.