Google Maps is perhaps one of the most influential apps ever, with the service having been available for two decades now. But what if it had launch a bit earlier? A fun new design video imagines what Google Maps would have looked like on those old, iconic Nokia phones in the early 2000s.
Google Maps launched on desktop in February 2005, later expanding as smartphones grew in popularity. In a brief video shared on Twitter/X, a designer shared a concept of what Google Maps might have looked like on Nokia’s old black-and-white cell phones. Specifically, the video shows 1999’s Nokia 3210, the predecessor to the 3310 which has earned meme status as an unbreakable phone.
The concept builds out a Google Maps app for Nokia’s iconic device, fully using black dots to form the UI. It builds out the destination and remaining distance, the active directions, and controls for the map. The map itself is also made from simple dots, but in a way that actually would have been useful had it existed 25 years ago.
The minute-long video is a fun watch.
If you could go back, what modern app would you put on an older device like this?
More on Google Maps:
- Google Maps testing Material 3 Expressive redesign on Wear OS
- Google Maps will get a new look to match your car, starting with Polestar
- Google Maps for iPhone can now scan your screenshots to save places
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