You know those annoying moments when your phone goes offline and you can’t get directions to where you’re going? And it’s always at the least opportune moments?
Good news: That will soon be a thing of the past.
On Thursday, Google announced at its annual developers in San Francisco that turn-by-turn directions would soon be available — even without a data connection. All you have to do is save the route while you’re connected and the directions will be there when you need them.
Also, because GPS doesn’t need LTE coverage, it can still track where you are on your route and estimate the time remaining for your trip.
That will be especially game-changing in communities where fast, reliable wireless infrastructure is spotty. It’s one of many offline improvements Google (GOOG) announced at this year’s conference, including saving search results in Chrome and videos from YouTube.