Photo: autoevolution
Google has just announced another big update for Waze on iOS and CarPlay, and before you ask, no, it’s not that update.
While the company keeps working on dashboard support for Waze on CarPlay, the traffic navigation app is now getting Google Assistant integration, which basically means that users can control it using just voice commands.
In other words, starting today you can just ask Google to report something in Waze, configure the navigation, or just search using the assistant.
The feature has been around for a while on Android, but with today’s update, Google makes Waze an even better navigation app for iPhone and CarPlay users who made the switch from Siri to Google Assistant.
However, as compared to Android users, those on the iPhone can’t use the Google Assistant integration to set a calendar appointment, play music, or make a phone call, so for the time being, it all comes down to features that are part of Waze.
If you want the full Google Assistant experience behind the wheel, the only option right now is to make the switch to Android Auto.
Without a doubt, Google Assistant integrated into Waze is good news because it allows us to control the app hands-free. But at the same time, the problems that users are hitting with Google Assistant on Android Auto show that the experience might not always be as smooth as you expect it to be.
On Android Auto, for example, Google Assistant sometimes doesn’t even detect the “Hey, Google” wake-up phrase, while others complain that the assistant is so slow that it often fails to react to their voice commands. Google has indeed released updates to deal with these problems, but occasional struggles still show up every once in a while, so it remains to be seen how everything is going to be in the Apple world.
In other words, starting today you can just ask Google to report something in Waze, configure the navigation, or just search using the assistant.
The feature has been around for a while on Android, but with today’s update, Google makes Waze an even better navigation app for iPhone and CarPlay users who made the switch from Siri to Google Assistant.
However, as compared to Android users, those on the iPhone can’t use the Google Assistant integration to set a calendar appointment, play music, or make a phone call, so for the time being, it all comes down to features that are part of Waze.
If you want the full Google Assistant experience behind the wheel, the only option right now is to make the switch to Android Auto.
Without a doubt, Google Assistant integrated into Waze is good news because it allows us to control the app hands-free. But at the same time, the problems that users are hitting with Google Assistant on Android Auto show that the experience might not always be as smooth as you expect it to be.
On Android Auto, for example, Google Assistant sometimes doesn’t even detect the “Hey, Google” wake-up phrase, while others complain that the assistant is so slow that it often fails to react to their voice commands. Google has indeed released updates to deal with these problems, but occasional struggles still show up every once in a while, so it remains to be seen how everything is going to be in the Apple world.
Google News