New Google Maps Widget Brings Traffic Predictions to Your Home Screen

    
    Google Maps widget now has a widget to show traffic predictions.
    James Martin/CNET
    

    Google Maps will introduce a new widget that can predict nearby traffic on a person’s home screen in the coming weeks, without having to open the app, Google said in a blog post on Thursday.?
    Real-time traffic predictions is already present in Waze, another Google-owned mapping app, and Google Maps itself. This widget brings the traffic prediction functionality to a person’s home screen by using location information. Google says that users will be more easily able to glance at their phone to see what local traffic might be like. The company also touts the ability to zoom in and out with the widget itself, forgoing the need to open the app. This widget is currently limited to Android phones.
    
    A GIF showing the ability to zoom in the Google Maps widget and see traffic predictions.
    Google
    Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Other widgets Google gave attention to include the Keep widget, which allows people to scroll through their to-do list, a Translations widget showcasing favorited translated phrases and a more versatile Gmail widget.