It’s been well over two years since Google’s own Niantic Labs released its location-based scouting app aptly titled Field Trip. There are a number of things you can do in Field Trip, but the primary one is to find interesting things around your current location like museums, art, historical sites, interesting architecture, hiking trails, great food and of course deals and offers. Over time Google has taken from from just a simple app to get more out of your trip and turned it into something you can use every single day, even if it’s in your own hometown. Now Google is taking the app one step further by giving it a complete user interface overhaul, all with full Material Design looks in tow.
Last time Google updated the Field Trip app it added Google Now integration, which made Field Trip cards appear on your Google Now feed. Couple this with the notifications present and you might find yourself not opening the app much at all, but with today’s update you’re likely going to want to start opening Field Trip a lot more than you have before. That’s not just because Field Trip is a lot prettier, it’s also a lot more useful now. Within a few seconds I was able to find a handful of highly rated restaurants within a few miles of my location, and scrolling around the map quickly shows hot spots of historical significance, all with context sensitive cards popping up at the bottom of the screen as you pan and zoom around. These cards can be enlarged or shrunken either by clicking on them or just swiping up or down on the card itself, making the interface super slick and intuitive without the need to keep pressing the back button to navigate.
Besides this Google has added more than 240 publishing partners to feed information to your phone or wrist via the notification or Google Now integration. This is all brand new content that you’ve not seen before in Field Trip, and it makes using the app even more exciting as well. Of course Field Trip is completely free and thanks to Niantic Labs expert knowledge of mapping (thanks to Ingress, which they also developed) you can be sure you’re going to always find something intersting. Hit the Google Play Store link below to grab the app.