Google Maps has been [rolling out updates] all over the place to make the app more intuitive and integrated with users’ preferences. The Google Maps battery life update may seem unnecessary to some users, but for parents, spouses, and best friends it may bring peace of mind.

Google Maps Battery Life

Whether your son has a flat tire or your roommate needs to be picked up at a party, you don’t always know where someone is when they’ve called you and need you to come to pick them up. So they share their location with you, and you locate them using Google Maps. But what if you lose connection? If you don’t know why you now have safety concerns added to the stress of trying to find your friend or loved one in an unfamiliar place.

This Google Maps update hopes to ease that stress by sharing the battery life of the user who is sharing their location with you. That way you know if their phone dies (or is about to) while you’re on your way.

What We Think: Aside from likely being a helpful feature in general, we like Google’s seemingly constant updates to their apps and search experience. It reminds us that if we’re considering web design or development changes our clients come first.

What This Means for You: In your digital marketing strategy, companies like Google can always be held up as examples of what to do (and not to do). In this case, it’s easy to see the benefit of integrating an app/website with customers’ daily lives. And it points to a deeper strategy when designing and testing new content, site features, and products, we always do well to ask: am I anticipating my customers’ needs? If so, will this update make it easier for them to meet a need, or find an answer?