Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Traffic reports are obviously an essential Waze feature, as they help make the road more predictable for every user out there.
But in addition to displaying the report on the map using the dedicated icons, Waze also allows users to expand these reports for additional information. In the case of map chats, this is an incredibly helpful option, as Wazers can provide more details about potential accidents or any other incident that might eventually slow you down.
For some reason, tapping reports to expand them no longer works, making people believe this is just a test before switching to what some consider to be intended behavior.
In other words, Waze might be running an experiment to determine if this is the right way to go before expanding the change to everybody running the application.
While I doubt this is the case, especially because no official information in this regard currently exists, Waze blocking users from expanding traffic reports makes sense from a distraction perspective. Users tapping reports to read additional details and the map chats could make them take their eyes off the road, eventually causing an increased risk of accidents.
The feature should be allowed only when the vehicle is parked, though this isn't the case for some iPhone users. Waze for iOS blocks access to additional report information, though the restriction appears to be in place only for select users. On Android, expanding traffic reports works as expected, with no limitation whatsoever.
Waze never allowed the feature on Android Auto and CarPlay, so expanding traffic reports was exclusive to mobile devices. The Google-owned company hasn't announced any change on this front, so for the time being, we'll just have to assume it's a bug hitting only part of the iOS user base.
I also came across the same bug on my iPhone, and I resonate with those who claim the "new behavior" is incredibly frustrating. Sitting in standstill traffic and being unable to read map chats ahead (where other users discuss the traffic jam reason) kind of defeats Waze's purpose of making the trip more predictable. Removing Waze and reinstalling it from the App Store didn’t produce any improvement on my iPhone, as the feature was still broken after this rather generic workaround.
Given the issue takes place in Apple's walled garden, downgrading to an earlier app version isn't possible unless you created a backup with a previous release. I couldn’t try this potential workaround, but the glitch has been around for at least a month, with no fixes seemingly included in the most recent builds.
I've reached out to Waze for additional information on this change and will post a follow-up when and if I hear back from them.
For some reason, tapping reports to expand them no longer works, making people believe this is just a test before switching to what some consider to be intended behavior.
In other words, Waze might be running an experiment to determine if this is the right way to go before expanding the change to everybody running the application.
While I doubt this is the case, especially because no official information in this regard currently exists, Waze blocking users from expanding traffic reports makes sense from a distraction perspective. Users tapping reports to read additional details and the map chats could make them take their eyes off the road, eventually causing an increased risk of accidents.
The feature should be allowed only when the vehicle is parked, though this isn't the case for some iPhone users. Waze for iOS blocks access to additional report information, though the restriction appears to be in place only for select users. On Android, expanding traffic reports works as expected, with no limitation whatsoever.
Waze never allowed the feature on Android Auto and CarPlay, so expanding traffic reports was exclusive to mobile devices. The Google-owned company hasn't announced any change on this front, so for the time being, we'll just have to assume it's a bug hitting only part of the iOS user base.
I also came across the same bug on my iPhone, and I resonate with those who claim the "new behavior" is incredibly frustrating. Sitting in standstill traffic and being unable to read map chats ahead (where other users discuss the traffic jam reason) kind of defeats Waze's purpose of making the trip more predictable. Removing Waze and reinstalling it from the App Store didn’t produce any improvement on my iPhone, as the feature was still broken after this rather generic workaround.
Given the issue takes place in Apple's walled garden, downgrading to an earlier app version isn't possible unless you created a backup with a previous release. I couldn’t try this potential workaround, but the glitch has been around for at least a month, with no fixes seemingly included in the most recent builds.
I've reached out to Waze for additional information on this change and will post a follow-up when and if I hear back from them.
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