Google Earth Pro’s desktop version is getting the chop, and users say they hate its ‘functionally useless’ web alternative
When it comes to abandoning and discontinuing its own products, Google doesn’t have a particularly stellar record. So many projects have been given the boot by the tech giant that there's even a Killed by Google website that collects all 300-plus of them.
Now, we can add Google Earth Pro to the list — and the announcement has caused consternation among Google fans.
An official post on the Google Earth support forums declared that “While you can continue using the legacy Google Earth Pro desktop app, it will no longer be available for new downloads beginning on June 25, 2027.” Users are being pointed towards the mobile and web versions of the app “for the best Google Earth experience.”
Provided you’ve downloaded it, you’ll be able to continue using the desktop version of Google Earth Pro beyond June 25. If you want to bring your saved places and projects from the desktop app to the web or mobile, you’ll need to follow Google’s instructions.
Google didn’t say exactly why it was discontinuing Google Earth Pro on desktop, only that “We’re continuing to make Google Earth on web and mobile the best place for people to get helpful geospatial insights.” But there’s no doubt that the decision to add yet another product to the Google graveyard will not go down well with many users.
As you might expect, social media has seen scores of Google users complaining about the move. Underneath Google’s forum post, for example, one anonymous user said: “Google Earth web is functionally useless for any kind of serious project. The max number of 250,000 vertices is ridiculous. It severely limits the amount of existing datasets I'm using on the desktop version. The [user interface] is intrusive and crowds the map, forcing the user to constantly move around and zoom in and out to see anything significant.”
That feeling was mirrored by sdot-p on Reddit, who lamented that “The impact to thousands of companies across industries will be huge. Earth Pro is integrated in workflows at a scale that can’t be changed without ridiculous amounts of effort. And even then the company is likely to be in a worse position than prior. You’re talking about impact to contractors, surveyors, utilities, municipalities, archeologists etc.”
Other users were more prosaic. “They accidentally made something that created too much value they couldn't monetize,” quipped MTGuy406 on Reddit, reflecting a longstanding sentiment that Google is quick to abandon projects that don’t make enough of an impact to its bottom line, no matter how beloved they might be.
I also have a soft spot for Google Earth Pro, having first used it many years ago to download North Korea Uncovered, a Google Earth project that aimed to map and label almost every building and location of interest inside the secretive state. Whether or not that will work anywhere near as well on the web isn't cleara, given the user interface and experience criticisms of the non-desktop version of Google Earth.
If you’ve been tempted to download Google Earth Pro on your desktop but haven't got around to doing it, now is the time to make your move. You’ll find the download on Google’s website — make sure you grab it before it’s too late.
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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.
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