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What you need to know
- Google Maps will soon show your estimated travel time home directly on the main screen.
- The new feature displays ETA within the Home button using color-coded indicators.
- It saves time by showing travel duration without opening route previews or starting navigation.
Google keeps adding new features to its apps every now and then, and a new report claims that the company will soon add a handy feature to the main screen of Google Maps that automatically shows how long it'll take you to get home whenever you're out and about.
Currently, whenever you want to check how long it would take to get home from a specific location, you have to tap the "Home" button beneath the search bar and view the estimated travel time from there. You can only see the ETA after tapping the button and then opening the route preview or starting navigation.
However, this could change soon. As spotted by the user winner00 on Discord (via Android Authority), Google Maps will soon start displaying your ETA home directly on the Home button below the search bar, so you don't have to open the route preview or start navigation to check your ETA.
The time indicator will also be color-coded, in the same green, yellow, or red colors, similar to how ETAs are currently displayed on Google Maps.
Checking how long it'll take to get home just got easier
It's a small change, but a useful one that saves you from opening the route preview every time you want to check how long it'll take to get home. You'll also be able to plan your commute faster from work or any other location, especially when you're short on time.
Alongside this addition, Google has also been integrating Gemini AI into Google Maps, replacing Google Assistant in some instances. This brings new capabilities like answering complex voice commands for route changes — for example, avoiding toll roads — and providing contextual responses about the weather or nearby places.
The new home time chip feature has only been spotted by one user for now, but Google is expected to roll it out to more users in the coming days.
