- Google discontinues the desktop version of Google Earth Pro
- Web and mobile versions of the app will continue to be available
- You have until June 25, 2027 to download the desktop edition
When it comes to abandoning and discontinuing its own products, Google doesn’t have a particularly stellar track record. So many projects have been launched by the tech giant that there is even a Killed by Google website that brings together over 300 of them.
We can now add Google Earth Pro to the list – and this announcement has caused consternation among Google fans.
An official post on the Google Earth support forums stated that “While you can continue to use the legacy Google Earth Pro desktop app, it will no longer be available for new downloads starting June 25, 2027.” Users are directed to the mobile and web versions of the app “for the best Google Earth experience.”
Provided you have downloaded it, you will be able to continue using the desktop version of Google Earth Pro beyond June 25. If you want to transfer your saved places and projects from the desktop app to 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, just that “we continue to make Google Earth on the web and mobile the best place for people to get useful geospatial information.” But there is no doubt that the decision to add another product to Google’s graveyard will not go down well with many users.
Leave, leave, leave
As expected, social media saw many Google users complaining about the decision. Under Google’s forum post, for example, an anonymous user said: “The Google Earth web is functionally useless for any kind of serious project. The maximum number of 250,000 vertices is ridiculous. This severely limits the amount of existing datasets I use on the desktop version. [user interface] is intrusive and clutters the map, forcing the user to constantly move around and zoom in and out to see anything important.
This sentiment was mirrored by sdot-p on Reddit, who lamented that “The impact on thousands of businesses across all industries will be enormous. Earth Pro is integrated into workflows on a scale that cannot be changed without ridiculous effort. And even then, the company is likely to be worse off than before. You’re talking impact on contractors, surveyors, utilities, municipalities, archaeologists, etc.”
Other users were more matter-of-fact. “They accidentally created something that created too much value that they couldn’t monetize,” MTGuy406 joked on Reddit, reflecting a long-standing sentiment that Google is quick to abandon projects that don’t have enough of an impact on its bottom line, no matter how much they are loved.
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 place of interest within this secretive state. It’s unclear whether this will work as well on the web, given the user interface and criticism of the non-computer version of Google Earth.
If you’ve been tempted to download Google Earth Pro to your computer but haven’t been able to do so, now is the time to take action. You will find the download on the Google website. Make sure you collect it before it’s too late.
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