Waze's killer feature finally coming to Google Maps | Mashable.
Waze's killer feature finally coming to Google Maps
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| Google Maps is getting one of Waze's most-beloved features. Credit: stockcam via Getty Images |
Way back in 2013, Google acquired the map startup Waze. Fast forward just 11 years and one of Waze's stand-out features is finally being rolled out to Google Maps.
As first noticed by 9to5Google, users are reporting that community reports from Waze are starting to roll out within Google Maps as well. The feature has long-earned Waze a specific fanbase that preferred this smaller startup directions and maps app over products from its much larger competitors like Google and Apple.
SEE ALSO:Apple Maps finally comes to the web
Basically, this Waze feature allows users to share when they come across new or temporary incidents that have occurred, warning other users of potential issues that may arise in their similar travels.
For example, a Google Maps user has shared an alert it received from within the Google Maps app that warned about "Police reported ahead." The alert included a "From Waze drivers" addendum in the notification. The alert within Google Maps asks "Are they still there?" and the user can tap "Yes" or "No' to share whether the police are still located where other Waze drivers reported seeing them.
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Google has been more closely integrating Google Maps and Waze specific features in recent months. As 9to5Google points out, Google shared that Google Maps would utilize Waze community reports within its app in a future update.
"Google Maps will surface reports from our drivers with attribution to Waze directly in the app," Waze announced on its website in July.
As of now, the update appears to be in the midst of rolling out, so some Google Maps users just might not seem them just yet. But soon, all Google Maps users will have access to a beloved feature that keeps many Waze users on Waze.
Topics Google
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ReplyDeleteIf only they updated quicker as I know how to properly enter geographic info
ReplyDeleteAs a former geographic research analyst for digital mapping Tom.Tom.. i put in our bridge is closed right in September and I'm still needing to tell delivery drivers an alternate route to get to my place
Mile markers would be very helpful with reports.
ReplyDeleteApple and Google need to work together so that reports go across all 3 apps.
ReplyDeleteWaze is a terrible application.
ReplyDeleteAs a professional driver I use Google Maps and my Garmin truckers GPS. I hate Waze.
ReplyDeleteWaze can't give me what I need out of it. Only Google maps can. Google maps is far superior because of the satellite imagery and street view and how it shows the overall routes in advance. Waze is a joke and too cartoonish. Waze is for children who are not serious.
DeleteA Google Maps végre integrálja a Waze egyik legkedveltebb funkcióját: a valós idejű közösségi incidensjelentéseket. A felhasználók mostantól közvetlenül a Google Térképen belül láthatják a Waze figyelmeztetéseit, például a rendÅ‘rségi vagy baleseti figyelmeztetéseket. Ez a funkció, amely lehetÅ‘vé teszi az autósok számára az útviszonyok jelentését és megerÅ‘sÃtését, a Waze hűséges felhasználói bázisának egyik fÅ‘ vonzereje volt.
ReplyDeleteA Waze 2013-as felvásárlása óta a Google fokozatosan összevonta a két platformot, és ez a frissÃtés egy fontos lépés ebben a folyamatban. Bár a bevezetés még folyamatban van, hamarosan minden Google Maps-felhasználó élvezheti a Waze tömegesen gyűjtött forgalmi ismereteit, ami intuitÃvabbá és tájékozottabbá teszi a navigációt.
This is the best outcome by far.
ReplyDeleteWhen Google bought Waze, I was surprised they didn't merge it with Google Maps. I have come to learn Waze has a very dedicated community with different needs and expectations than Google Maps users.
On the other hand incident reports on Maps has always been lacking. By keeping Waze stand alone, but showing reports from Waze on Maps I think all users get the best of both worlds.
I agree. But they probably still will merge eventually, but not anytime soon though. I'm sure they know if they were to merge, they would need to be to keep both sides happy in order to not lose users. Maps is severely lacking in customization and voice options, but is best for app speed, quality, and compatibility. In order to add all of Waze's features into Maps, they would have to probably do a lot rework in Maps. That being said, they COULD have already started that many years ago behind the scenes after they were bought out, who knows. There was lots of talks about that a while ago. And then the other issue is the branding, Waze has more fun unique branding, whereas Maps is consistent with Google's branding. So they would need to make the Maps branding a bit more flexible, at least to allow skinning/themes/customization. But I agree, the best outcome currently is that both apps still work separately while sharing data with each other.
DeleteI just returned home over a 300 mile trip this weekend visiting family, and noticed this for the first time on android auto. Various reports indicating they came from Waze. I was super happy to see this finally happening.
ReplyDeleteSame here. Thanks for helping me avoid some speeding fines 👀
DeleteI prefer Waze for the speed limit alerts. If only Waze alerted me when speed limits goes back up - so useful when going through construction zones or multiple speed traps in small towns.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, The Waze reporting and routing in Florida is excellent. I guess the reason google wants to expand it maps appeal is so it can follow your progress and serve you with adverts. Fancy a McDonalds.
ReplyDeleteI'm just getting to know Waze. In Google Maps I don't have traffic incident reporting, in (AA 7-inch screen, problem described on this portal). In Waze there are no such problems. I wonder why Google Android auto has such a hopeless interface, and there is no such option for a certain group of users, since both applications are from Google. Out of curiosity, I also looked at GM on carplay and it looks much better on 7" and of course there is reporting...
ReplyDeleteI hadn't considered that Maps on Android Automotive might be different than on Android Auto (what I use). But GM will tell you that the apps you want are on Android Automotive.
DeleteI’ve been seeing these since at least August on Google Maps on iOS. It was when we did a road trip to Atlanta and I remember because we turned it into a game of “is the stalled car going to still be there?!”
ReplyDeleteI love Google maps but waze shows current speed & road speed limit even without a route unlike Google maps.
ReplyDeleteSpeed limit would be nice, but what's the point of current speed once you've verified your speedometer is accurate?
DeleteThis is a nightmare. I got my first WAZE incident report yesterday. The Google reports that pop up unwanted, cover a third of my display, are often false, & require me to take my eyes off the road to dismiss them are bad enough. Sure enough, there were no police ahead, despite the annoying warning from WAZE. Please give us an option to turn off incident reports.
ReplyDeleteThis is not new. The ability to see Waze reports in Google Maps has been available for over a month. It's very distracting and very dangerous. These prompts come up every couple of minutes while driving.
ReplyDeleteI find these notifications improve safety rather than create distractions. It's not just about police reports; they alert you to hazards like debris on the road, accidents, road closures, or construction zones, allowing you to adjust your driving in advance. You’re also warned about slow-moving or stopped vehicles, cars pulled over on the shoulder, or even animals on the road, which helps prevent sudden reactions and collisions. In some cases, they notify you about weather-related dangers like flooding or ice, giving you time to prepare. These features enhance situational awareness, making the drive safer for everyone.
DeleteGoogle always asks me if the incident is still there. If I don't tap something the message takes too long to go away and becomes distracting.
DeleteThis is an example of why designing user interface tech is so difficult; some people will always complain when something is changed or made different.
DeleteThe notification is behind your current location... How is it distracting when you can simply ignore it until it goes away on its own?
I've been getting the notifications for years, but the option to confirm it's still present has only been for months.
DeleteWhy bother? Just use Waze. I guess this is the start of integrating the two platforms.
ReplyDeleteWhy not share the data between the two? If Apple has incident reporting, I'd be even happier if they integrated that too. The larger the dataset with more contributers, the better it will be. Exactly like the Find My platform.
DeleteI haven't tried Waze for years, but for me it was too cartoonish.
DeleteAlso, I used to have the Dash Express GPS, which was the first GPS with user generated traffic data. The GUI on that was my favorite ever, and Maps is so close to the same I'm surprised they haven't been sued by whoever bought the rights to Dash Express technology.
Cartoonish is the best description of Waze. I couldn't do it.
DeleteBecause Waze clearly isn't preferred by the vast majority of users. There are many more functional differences between the two apps than just incident reporting.
DeleteChoice is always good, but if one app has to go, it should be the one that is very significantly less popular.
Will have to check that out, as I wasn't aware of that
ReplyDeleteThe best of both worlds 🤯
ReplyDeleteApple Maps anyone?
ReplyDeleteOMG, has that gotten any better?
DeleteI kind of like the idea of this. If it works as it should and the reports are made correctly, then we’ll get plenty of warnings via the app.
ReplyDeleteI had one last night stating a policeman was at the side of the road reported by Waze users but there was no one there,if they are going to start adding Waze reports it would be good to add settings you can turn off certain reports from warning you
ReplyDeleteIt’s your job to click no longer there.
DeleteI was busy driving in traffic rather than reading and tapping my phone screen
DeleteIf you’re in traffic someone should.
DeleteI want to say you can turn off certain reports though. I agree with you there. Not that I ever would.
I usually do answer if it's safe to do so, community reports can be a very useful feature to live maps,but Waze has a lot of different traffic reports that I personally don't find important, depends on what Goggle intends to add to their maps
DeleteI gotcha. On Waze you can turn off reports and notifications for each individual thing which is nice. I’m curious if Google maps will follow suit. Personally I wish they would keep them separate. I prefer Waze and don’t want it to disappear by migrating everyone to Google maps.
DeleteDamn. Wish they would not pollute Google maps as well. So sick of the non-stop reports some wazers seem to enjoy dropping in the app. The first 15 reporting the hazard (car well off road) is not enough as 15 more have to report it as well. I prefer waze over GM but have often turned of waze and switched over due to this issue
ReplyDeleteYou can easily turn off "car on shoulder" reports (while in Waze). It took me years to realize that, btw.
DeleteJust checked and this is already turned off.
DeleteFor me, Waze report was first, but no cop there, then gm report 1/2 later, cop was there.
DeleteProbably take awhile to work out the kinks
Hasn’t it been doing this for almost a year?
ReplyDeleteMaybe. This is the first I've seen, but I guess it could have been a slow roll out.
DeleteI thought this was already in place? Can anyone verify if “Waze user” appears on CarPlay?
ReplyDeleteNow if it would chirp when the speed limit changes...
ReplyDeleteI drive a truck route, and one road goes 55 to 45 after like 3 miles, I wish the screen would flash, or something to tell me 1/2 mile away. It always changes exactly at the sign
DeleteThe only reason why I'm not moving over to Google Maps even with this is the fact that it's so slow and choppy/laggy when in navigation mode, whereas Waze is much faster and feels nicer to use.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been seeing this in Google Maps since the summer. Although they changed “speed trap ahead” to “police ahead”. It’s usually pretty accurate and I’ve been reporting incidents as well. I’m in Massachusetts.
ReplyDeleteSame, I thought this feature was already out for 2 or so months ago which is when it started for me at least. Out in California.
Deletecurious about this development. in my mind, waze had two original features which made it good. 1) wayfinding was optimized to avoid traffic through side streets. they no longer do this. 2) you could see where cops were on the roads. now they're handing that over to google? what reason is there to use waze anymore?
ReplyDeleteJust got back from a road trip, LA to Seattle and back. Surprisingly, the alerts started showing up on the map. They were accurate and easy to interact with. Pleasant surprise.
ReplyDeleteCan I help you
ReplyDeleteFinally! Now I can go back to maps. Only used Waze for police reporting but it's such a buggy app. Didn't used to be that bad but I think Google has neglected it. So many problems that I started writing a list of all the bugs lol. Glad to be done with that.
ReplyDeleteI hate it. How can I turn off these alerts? In Android Auto now it pops up a giant prompt about stalled vehicles asking if it's still there or not, and speaks the alert to me. The alert is more distracting and dangerous than the stalled vehicle, which is parked harmlessly on the shoulder.
ReplyDeleteYou can tweak the alters in the settings. I usually just turn of the audio alert for my navigation anyways. Maybe try with that first and see if it's less distracting.
DeleteI've been seeing this functionality for months. The Verge even reported on it back in July, stating it's "rolling out now". Why this 2nd article months later?
ReplyDeleteThe July article doesn't report that Waze reports are being added to Google Maps. It just says that Google Maps would allow Google Maps users to make and receive reports (from other Google Maps users) like Waze. This is completely different.
DeleteThanks for explaining. I never would have guessed the feature was ignoring Waze data before this. Idk why they didn't do this right away
DeleteI've had these exact prompts in Germany for about 4 weeks now.
ReplyDeleteIf any of the article writers bothered to read the Reddit thread itself, several people have reported seeing it before this "first sighting in the wild".
DeleteSame on my Pixel 9 in the U.S.
DeleteI first saw these prompts on a 7 hour drive during the first week of October.
Honestly, I think these prompts (with all the extra screen space they take up) are annoying.
For years now, I've been seeing the same Waze-sourced incident reports (police, debris, stalled vehicles, accidents, slowdowns) in Driving Mode of Google Maps as small icons with voiced warnings. Now they're showing up with a big-ass pane of text telling me explicitly that they're from Waze.
Honestly, I don't care where the reports are coming from. Please give me my screen real-estate back, without me having to interact with the screen and close the report pane before the too-long timeout automatically closes it.
I got the update a week ago and it's great with Android Auto. Being alerted of police is extremely useful, but I also got around ten Stalled Vehicle warnings driving down I-10 on Thanksgiving which was a bit annoying.
ReplyDeleteThe stalled-vehicle reports are incredibly useless. They're always just cars or trucks sitting in the breakdown lane, having absolutely zero impact on the traffic.
DeleteBefore this new change, stalled vehicles would show up as unobtrusive icons in Driving Mode of Google Maps on my phone. On I-10 or I-65, I'd see one or two of those icons every 30 miles or so, but I could easily ignore them. About a year or two ago, I started seeing a small message pane asking me if the vehicle was still there, but that pane was still easy to ignore. Now with the latest change, a big-ass pane of text takes over most of the screen to tell me that a stalled vehicle has been reported by Waze users, and its associated buttons are huge.
I know that Google usually tests several different UX/UI features across different groups of users, so what I'm experiencing might not be what you're seeing.
I unsubscribed from Beta mode a few years ago because I hated that Maps kept getting more annoying with each Beta test. I feel like I'm being subject to another Beta test right now, even though I'm on the regular release cycle.
The stalled vehicle, or vehicle on side of road alerts only really make sense in something like Waze when you’re really seriously speeding. Seeing a vehicle on the side of the road its usually pretty hard to tell of it’s traffic enforcement, an unmarked officer, etc. Those alerts give you positive confirmation to keep on speeding.
DeleteI’m kind of surprised to see this stuff in Google maps, which usually isn't tacitly geared towards breaking the law 😅
It's truly fascinating to me that Waze continues to exist as a separate app, given how trigger-happy Google is with killing its products and services. You'd think they would have folded it into Google Maps, by now.
ReplyDeleteIt's been surprisingly slow, but this seems like another step in that direction.
DeleteI assume they know waze users are really passionate about it so they didn't want to lose them. Also I bet they get better reporting data from waze than maps
DeleteSo the only reason Waze is being maintained is because of the 500K plus users continued crowdsource activity.
ReplyDelete