The days of needing a GPS unit dedicated to navigation are gone. Thanks to Google Maps, all you need is a smartphone to get turn-by-turn directions. Android home screen shortcuts make it even easier to use.
The process of getting directions usually involves opening the Google Maps app, searching for a location, finding the location you want, and starting navigation. Doing this daily can be a bit annoying.
Google will show you where you visit often and make the process a bit easier, but you can improve this even further. You can bypass them all and jump directly to the navigation by adding shortcuts to your home screen.
First, open the Google Maps app on your Android device. Find a place to create the shortcut.
- Next, tap “Directions” on the location information card.
Select the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner and select “Add Route to Home Screen.”
A pop-up window will appear with a shortcut icon. You can tap and hold the icon to place it manually on your home screen, or tap “Add Automatically” to have it placed for you.
The shortcut will now be on your home screen. Tapping it will open Google Maps and automatically start turn-by-turn navigation to the location.
This is a great way to get easy access to your most frequent locations. You can keep all of these shortcuts in a home screen folder and always know where to find them.
