Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Waze was designed to provide drivers with the fastest route to a defined destination, but long-time users know this doesn’t always happen.
The reason typically comes down to always-changing traffic conditions, and despite using a crowdsourcing engine, Waze sometimes fails to avoid all traffic jams.
One thing that makes a huge difference is how Waze offers navigation routes. Few people know that the application actually learns from them, and in some cases, it needs more time to get the suggested routes right.
If you use Waze in a region where the app isn’t very popular, Waze first needs to collect information on the nearby roads and traffic conditions. As such, it can eventually generate a faster route, as it knows precisely where slowdowns are more likely to occur.
The first time Waze detects a new route, it collects essential data, such as speed and traffic conditions. The second time, the application compares the new data with the existing information, eventually combining all statistics to get a clearer picture of every route.
In other words, Waze generates a first route without knowing precisely if this is the best you can use. The application just needs more information to determine the fastest route to a destination, so unless the data is available, it needs to learn from you.
The Google-owned company admits that using the suggested route a few times may be needed to let the application learn from it. Eventually, the app would be able to compare routes and determine the fastest one.
The good news is that Waze can also collect traffic information by simply running on the phone. This means you don’t necessarily have to enable navigation. As long as you drive with the app running on the mobile phone, Waze analyzes the travel speed and traffic conditions to compare real-time and average statistics. This helps it find better routes, as it can tell more accurately when motorists are likely to encounter slowdowns.
At the end of the day, Waze might not be able to provide users with the fastest route from the very beginning. This happens mostly in regions where it doesn’t have enough data. If you give it enough time, Waze becomes the powerful navigation solution everybody relies on, with routing getting more accurate the more you use it.
Needless to say, Waze must be used with an Internet connection, as this is the only way to download real-time traffic information, traffic alerts, and hazards. Your device also wouldn’t be able to transmit the collected data, which means the application wouldn’t be capable of comparing route information.
Unlike Google Maps, Waze does not support navigating without an Internet connection. Offline maps are not available, so if you lose the data connection while driving, Waze can no longer update traffic information.
One thing that makes a huge difference is how Waze offers navigation routes. Few people know that the application actually learns from them, and in some cases, it needs more time to get the suggested routes right.
If you use Waze in a region where the app isn’t very popular, Waze first needs to collect information on the nearby roads and traffic conditions. As such, it can eventually generate a faster route, as it knows precisely where slowdowns are more likely to occur.
The first time Waze detects a new route, it collects essential data, such as speed and traffic conditions. The second time, the application compares the new data with the existing information, eventually combining all statistics to get a clearer picture of every route.
In other words, Waze generates a first route without knowing precisely if this is the best you can use. The application just needs more information to determine the fastest route to a destination, so unless the data is available, it needs to learn from you.
The Google-owned company admits that using the suggested route a few times may be needed to let the application learn from it. Eventually, the app would be able to compare routes and determine the fastest one.
The good news is that Waze can also collect traffic information by simply running on the phone. This means you don’t necessarily have to enable navigation. As long as you drive with the app running on the mobile phone, Waze analyzes the travel speed and traffic conditions to compare real-time and average statistics. This helps it find better routes, as it can tell more accurately when motorists are likely to encounter slowdowns.
At the end of the day, Waze might not be able to provide users with the fastest route from the very beginning. This happens mostly in regions where it doesn’t have enough data. If you give it enough time, Waze becomes the powerful navigation solution everybody relies on, with routing getting more accurate the more you use it.
Needless to say, Waze must be used with an Internet connection, as this is the only way to download real-time traffic information, traffic alerts, and hazards. Your device also wouldn’t be able to transmit the collected data, which means the application wouldn’t be capable of comparing route information.
Unlike Google Maps, Waze does not support navigating without an Internet connection. Offline maps are not available, so if you lose the data connection while driving, Waze can no longer update traffic information.
Google News