Waze's killer feature finally coming to Google Maps | Mashable.

Waze's killer feature finally coming to Google Maps

User reports from Waze will now show up in Google Maps too.
By Matthews Martins on 
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.

Mashable Light Speed
Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories?
Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter.
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Google Maps with Waze user report
Credit: Truckin_18 on Reddit

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.


Best Cyber Monday deals you can shop right now

Products available for purchase here through affiliate links are selected by our merchandising team. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

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

Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  2. If only they updated quicker as I know how to properly enter geographic info
    As 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

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mile markers would be very helpful with reports.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Apple and Google need to work together so that reports go across all 3 apps.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Waze is a terrible application.

    ReplyDelete
  6. As a professional driver I use Google Maps and my Garmin truckers GPS. I hate Waze.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Waze 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.

      Delete
  7. A 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 rendőrségi vagy baleseti figyelmeztetéseket. Ez a funkció, amely lehetővé teszi az autósok számára az útviszonyok jelentését és megerősítését, a Waze hűséges felhasználói bázisának egyik fő vonzereje volt.

    A Waze 2013-as felvásárlása óta a Google fokozatosan összevonta a két platformot, és ez a frissítés 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 intuitívabbá és tájékozottabbá teszi a navigációt.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is the best outcome by far.

    When 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 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.

      Delete
  9. I 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here. Thanks for helping me avoid some speeding fines 👀

      Delete
  10. I 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.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I 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.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'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...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I 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.

      Delete
  13. I’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?!”

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love Google maps but waze shows current speed & road speed limit even without a route unlike Google maps.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Speed limit would be nice, but what's the point of current speed once you've verified your speedometer is accurate?

      Delete
  15. This 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.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I 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.

      Delete
    2. Google 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.

      Delete
    3. This is an example of why designing user interface tech is so difficult; some people will always complain when something is changed or made different.

      The notification is behind your current location... How is it distracting when you can simply ignore it until it goes away on its own?

      Delete
    4. I've been getting the notifications for years, but the option to confirm it's still present has only been for months.

      Delete
  17. Why bother? Just use Waze. I guess this is the start of integrating the two platforms.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why 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.

      Delete
    2. I haven't tried Waze for years, but for me it was too cartoonish.

      Also, 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.

      Delete
    3. Cartoonish is the best description of Waze. I couldn't do it.

      Delete
    4. Because 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.

      Choice is always good, but if one app has to go, it should be the one that is very significantly less popular.

      Delete
  18. Will have to check that out, as I wasn't aware of that

    ReplyDelete
  19. The best of both worlds 🤯

    ReplyDelete
  20. Replies
    1. OMG, has that gotten any better?

      Delete
  21. I 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.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I 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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It’s your job to click no longer there.

      Delete
    2. I was busy driving in traffic rather than reading and tapping my phone screen

      Delete
    3. If you’re in traffic someone should.

      I want to say you can turn off certain reports though. I agree with you there. Not that I ever would.

      Delete
    4. 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

      Delete
    5. I 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.

      Delete
  23. Damn. 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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can easily turn off "car on shoulder" reports (while in Waze). It took me years to realize that, btw.

      Delete
    2. Just checked and this is already turned off.

      Delete
    3. For me, Waze report was first, but no cop there, then gm report 1/2 later, cop was there.
      Probably take awhile to work out the kinks

      Delete
  24. Hasn’t it been doing this for almost a year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe. This is the first I've seen, but I guess it could have been a slow roll out.

      Delete
  25. I thought this was already in place? Can anyone verify if “Waze user” appears on CarPlay?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Now if it would chirp when the speed limit changes...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I 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

      Delete
  27. I read this article suggesting it may not be widely rolled out yet https://www.androidpolice.com/google-maps-waze-incident-reports/

    So posting to say I too saw this last night (police ahead, reported by Waze). It's the first hazard warning I recall ever referencing Waze users.

    ReplyDelete
  28. The 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.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I’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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same, 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.

      Delete
  30. curious 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?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Stay informed!