Early last year, Google introduced a new dedicated tab for ride services on Google Maps for both Android and iOS. The new tab was an addition to the already available options: car, transit, walking, and biking. From that tab, the user could see fare estimates and pick up times if a car from a ride service partner was available nearby and if the partner"s app was installed on the device.
By that time, Google also listed the available partners for this feature in addition to Uber"s global partnership. Those partners were: 99Taxis in Brazil, Ola Cabs in India, Hailo in the UK and Spain, mytaxi in Germany and Spain, and Gett in the UK.
But today, Google went one step further on its partnership with Uber. The latest version of Google Maps for both Android and iOS brings complete native Uber integration, enabling the user to book an Uber ride, track the driver on the map and even connect with the driver without ever leaving Google Maps, as demonstrated in the following video:
Also, the user can now browse some information about the destination within Google Maps while en route, as demonstrated on the video below:
Finally, the new version of Google Maps also brings a new ride services interface, as shown on the first image above. The new interface shows the map, instead of a list of ride options, along with a carousel of ride service providers available in the region.
Sources: Google Blog via Android Police