The days when you needed a dedicated GPS unit for navigation are long gone. Thanks to Google Maps, you only need a smartphone to get turn-by-turn directions. Shortcuts to the home screen on Android make it even easier to use.
Typically, the process of getting directions involves opening the Google Maps app, searching for a location, finding the desired location, and starting navigation. Doing this every day can get a bit cumbersome.
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Google will surface frequently visited locations, making the process a bit easier, but we can still improve. By adding a shortcut to your home screen, you can skip all that and go straight to navigation.
To get started, open the Google Maps app on your Android device. Find the location for which you want to create a shortcut.
Then tap “Directions” on the location data card.
Select the three dot menu icon in the top right corner and select ‘Add route to home screen’.
A popup window will appear with a shortcut icon. You can touch and hold the icon to manually place it on your home screen, or tap “Add automatically” to place it in front of you.
The shortcut is now on your home screen. Tapping on it will open Google Maps and automatically initiate turn-by-turn navigation to the location.
This is a great way to easily access your most common locations. You can keep all these shortcuts in a folder on the home screen and always know where to find them.
