Waze’s incident reporting technology, which allows users to report and verify police, speed cameras, and traffic on their route, has earned the app a loyal and engaged user base. However, a recent update to Google Maps and Waze—both owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet—will see Google Maps get many of those Waze-specific features.
The update, which will roll out to Android, iOS, Android Auto, and CarPlay, will bring new features and updated interfaces to both apps. Google Maps has had some rudimentary incident reporting features in past years, but this update will expand the offerings and make them easier to find and use in the interface, significantly narrowing the gap with Waze’s system for the first time.
Similar to Waze’s pop-ups and warnings along navigation routes, users will be able to see icons for incidents such as slowdowns, police presence, speed cameras, road hazards and closures, and construction and verify incidents that other drivers have reported. Google Maps will also give users more information about their destination during navigation, highlighting the specific building, identifying the building’s main entrance, and suggesting parking lots in the area. All these updates should make it easier to confidently find your destination and minimize the amount of fumbling through menus in-app.
Waze, for its part, will get some unique updates to its incident reporting system including differentiation between new specialized types of cameras that can detect seatbelt usage and texting. The app will also have lock screen navigation options and send users push notifications for closures near them or on common routes.
Clearly, Google realizes that the ability to detect road conditions and speed traps is a big draw for users and has streamlined features so drivers don’t have to take their eyes off the road in order to share conditions. As we expect more and more from our navigation apps, developers will have to strike a balance between providing information on the route ahead and limiting distractions for drivers.
Since Waze was purchased by Alphabet in 2013, questions have circulated about how the company will differentiate the two apps or if they will eventually merge. In 2022, Google merged Waze and Google Maps teams and moved Waze into its internal Google Geo division, grouping it with Google Earth, Street, View, and Google Maps. Waze was later hit with layoffs in 2023 along with other Google properties and the tech industry at large.
For now, Google is still confident in Waze’s loyal user base. “They prefer some of the things that Waze does over Google Maps, and we know the reverse is true as well,” Google Maps Head of Product Can Comertoglu told The Verge.
As Waze continues to be integrated into the Google fold, shared features between it and Google Maps might streamline Google’s navigation products, but it also introduces the question of redundancy. As features that used to give Waze a unique edge over the rest of the navigation market pop up in Google Maps, users may have less of a reason to choose Waze over Google’s default navigation app.
Amelia Nonemacher’s interest in cars began over childhood road trips across the American Southwest in a trusty Toyota Sienna minivan and fully developed once she discovered she could brag about driving manual to her unlicensed college friends. A native Austinite, she spends her time back home driving a 2013 Subaru BRZ.