Google Maps Rolling Out ‘Busy Areas’ Feature
December 2021

Google now appears to be rolling out the “busy areas” feature that it first announced back in May at Google I/O.

Sections of Google’s existing “Area of Interest” polygons are highlighted in a darker yellow-orange color—and these highlighted areas shift throughout the day as areas become more or less busy.


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Timing-wise, it’s interesting to see Google build upon its AOI feature now that Apple Maps, as of iOS 15, has also started displaying AOIs:

In other words, just as Apple is catching up (on this particular feature), Google is already moving the goal posts.