Google Renames Maps Engine To ‘My Maps,’ Introduces A New Logo And Other Small Improvements

Here’s a Google app that few people would judge you for not knowing about. There’s this thing formerly known as Maps Engine that lets people create custom maps and share them with others. Now it goes by the name of My Maps. And, put bluntly, it’s a change that makes sense. This conveys to users what the app actually does. Map Engine? Not so much.

To go with the name change, Google has changed the app’s icon as well. Here’s the old and new version placed side by side.

The new icon wouldn’t look out of place next to those for Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Considering that maps, if you think back far enough, were once physical documents (a few of them do live on in department store check-out lanes), this logo also makes more sense as well.

There isn’t a large UI redesign to go along with everything else, as the app looks largely the same. Still, a few improvements have made their way inside. Here’s the change log.