Google Earth Receives Major GIS Upgrade

In response to a long-standing user request, Google Earth has introduced three updates that move the platform closer to a professional GIS tool: shapefile and 3D model import support, as well as elevation profiles integrated in the measure tool.

A shapefile is an Esri vector data format used to store geographic features: location, shape, and attributes. It’s widely used by real estate developers or urban planners who rely on large, proprietary datasets to assess site conditions and identify development opportunities. Users can now upload a .zip archive with shapefiles to render both the features and their associated attributes as cloud-native data layers.