Google Maps has been offering similar capabilities for several years, but incident reporting remained exclusive to mobile devices until earlier this year.
The hazard reporting system landed on CarPlay earlier this month, and now Google is giving Android Auto users almost no reason to stick with Waze by releasing the same update on its own playground.
Users can report traffic hazards when running Google Maps on Android Auto, with the rollout starting in India. The announcement is part of a larger pack of improvements aimed at Indian Google Maps users, and Google hasn’t provided an ETA regarding the expansion worldwide.
However, Google explains that the ability to report road incidents is available on all platforms, namely Android, iOS, Android Auto, and CarPlay.
Google Maps and Waze are currently the top navigation apps on Android Auto, and the latter has been offering support for reporting traffic incidents since the first version available in the car. This feature has long been the main reason for users to pick Waze over Google Maps, so Google releasing this update could make Waze irrelevant.
Rumors that Google could merge Google Maps and Waze have been swirling around the web for years, but the search giant never publicly commented on this scenario. Not long ago, I told you that Google had no intention to combine the two apps into a single offering. I asked my contacts at Google, but they didn’t seem so sure the plan is still valid, albeit they admitted that a potential merge is still “highly unlikely.”
Waze has recently received a major update on all supported platforms, enabling speed bump alerts and notifications for merging roads. Waze also includes improved roundabout navigation and warnings for sharp curves and lower speed limits.
Meanwhile, Apple has also become more committed to navigation wars. Apple Maps has expanded beyond the Apple ecosystem with a web-based version, so the battle in this space is getting fiercer, including on Android. However, Apple has yet to release a mobile version of Apple Maps on non-Apple devices, but considering the need for growing market share, it’s probably a matter of time before the iPhone maker starts considering this expansion.
Meanwhile, the new Google Maps capabilities on Android Auto are already live in India, so fingers crossed that Google brings them to everybody as soon as possible.