Google bought Waze for $1.3 billion in 2013, and the move made many anticipate the end of the Israeli mapping service. With Google Maps considered the flagship product, it was believed the search giant was planning a merger that would have allowed the company to create a feature-complete mapping platform.
Analysts, industry experts, and users still believed it was a matter of time until Google combined the two apps. The search behemoth never commented on this speculation, focusing on improving the two apps with new-generation capabilities.
Not long ago, people close to the matter told me that Google “definitely” wasn’t planning to merge Google Maps and Waze. However, the latest updates suggest that Google is slowly expanding Google Maps into the Waze territory, suggesting that a merger is not entirely out of the table. I asked my sources again, but they claim nothing has changed.
Let’s have a look at all these changes and how they make Waze redundant.
Traffic reports
If you’ve used Waze, you know its biggest feature is support for traffic reports. Users can pin hazards on the map, including speed traps, roadworks, and blocked lanes, to help Waze understand traffic conditions. The application can generate warnings for other users, so when they approach a pinned location, they know what to expect and have more time to slow down.
Google Maps has been offering support for incident reporting since 2019. However, the company never expressed a particular interest in expanding this feature. It all changed this month when Google brought the feature to CarPlay and Android Auto, allowing users to report traffic incidents while they drive.
Google also refined the reporting experience with larger icons and a new reporting button, making it easier for everyone to pin a hazard on the map. The company clearly wants users to start reporting traffic incidents in Google Maps, even if this means eating up Waze’s share.
Importing Waze data
Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Google Maps has been using Waze data for quite some time, but Google has now become more committed to improving its flagship product using traffic information submitted by users.
Google Maps will receive traffic hazard information from Waze, and Google explains that “these reports come from the Maps and Waze communities, and you can even see which app a report came from.”
This means that Waze will become a more valuable data asset for Google Maps, and the next time you are warned of roadworks or a speed trap ahead, there’s a chance that the information wasn’t submitted by a fellow Maps user.
Narrow roads warnings
Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Like Waze, Google Maps will start warning of potential road hazards that help make every journey safer.
Somewhat surprisingly, Google Maps is being updated with a feature that is not available in Waze. Google has developed an AI model for Indian roads that allows Google Maps to process information from multiple sources, including satellite imagery and Street View, to determine narrow roads.
As anybody knows already, and some of us learned it the hard way, narrow roads are particularly dangerous for large vehicles, and Google believes that warning users of their location helps improve safety on the road.
Users can avoid these narrow roads or, when unavoidable, slow down and approach the location more cautiously.
This feature is currently available in India, and it’s unclear if Google wants to expand it to other regions worldwide.
Flyover information
Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Google Maps will also begin highlighting flyovers in Google Maps helping users continue navigation on the suggested route more conveniently.
The feature doesn’t include screen popups but small labels on the map where flyovers are highlighted on the suggested route.
It’s already available on Android and Android Auto, and Google says Apple users will get it on iPhone and CarPlay.
Using the Google Maps power
Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Another new feature that makes Google Maps the better choice in the fight against Waze is called destination guidance.
Unlike Waze, whose main focus is taking drivers to a desired destination, Google Maps also includes walking directions. The new destination guidance automatically highlights the building where you navigate as you approach it, marking the entrance on the map.
If you can’t park in front of the building, Google Maps highlights nearby parking places and offers directions to walk to the building entrance. This way, users can continue running Google Maps after they leave the car, so the application becomes the all-in-one solution for going from where you are to where you want to be.
A CarPlay speedometer
Google Maps has also received one of the most anticipated updates on CarPlay.
Starting in July, Google Maps has a speedometer on CarPlay, allowing users to see how fast they go when navigation is enabled.
Previously, the feature was exclusive to the Android ecosystem, and Google Maps on CarPlay only displayed the limit for the current road.
All these changes turn Waze into a far less advanced navigation solution, and I wonder how long it’ll take for Google to realize that its navigation apps not only become similar but also make no sense to remain on the market simultaneously.
Are all these updates a sign that Waze is going away? Let me know what you think in the comment box below.