Fortunately, there's a way to preload maps, but it's not intuitive: type "OK maps" in the search box and tap the search icon. You'll see this message: "pre-loading maps" or an error message: "the on-screen area map is too large, zoom in first". If you see the error message, zoom in and type "OK maps" again. It's annoying to this again and again.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQxMzM8FqcqAmSX5ElGTcBZFgwOHuR_VLXQynHRp19OWwOPkIcHcy89V5EKA49XPa6lMwCf3GfkMMzpURnX_-dcuyAktqf_zLmfu_R8fuW_eWbFfvNrixbeqGRw7rzfhKrG1Pmk8qzFiF/s640/ok-maps-1.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85miIrtp5pRceiBXyv-k33lJ74w7bCMSjQZX2sNO_AOaNZlVaP0SLb7zSFBQN5ILsPRahI9inOVekndwHhcA9ON918RS2dxGWeTC2MskMcbuSZew-7p6z1jS0AXcLmP2rBmRKEpfznP1n/s640/ok-maps-2.jpg)
Another downside is that you can't manage your offline maps. Here's a screenshot from the old Google Maps: you could quickly find cached maps, check how much space they use, rename them or delete them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzeMTD9Ed2TE8lhl0q0a85dg3tQaflC8DoBLp7XNAF8AZBRmI-7xLndIBNR_uEavBBDafDMsmzzJ2cZNTWIa_qXULYcQO_9857aO5uP1I3xnf4Z5jT4ql6lp79s77HEAMmQvXfxVNLcAji/s640/google-maps-manage-cached-maps.png)
Hopefully, Google will add the offline feature to the interface in a future update and make it even better. It would be nice to save bigger maps and to use the offline maps for local search, directions and navigation.
Update: A new version of Google Maps added this option when you tap the search box: "Make this map available offline". It's less cumbersome to use, but still a patchwork.
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