Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Waze has started the rollout of a new app version whose role is specifically to correct a freezing bug hitting Android Auto users.
Together with Google Maps, Waze dominates the navigation space on Android and Android Auto. With a crowdsourcing engine and built-in traffic reporting system, the application provides users with accurate ETAs and faster routes to the destination particularly as it warns of speed traps, accidents, and traffic jams.
Despite being owned by Google, Waze has been struggling with various errors on Android Auto, and the most recent caused the app to occasionally freeze.
In my car, the freezing typically occurred after the map was loaded. Waze did manage to determine my location, but the information was no longer updated as I started moving. As such, the provided route guidance was inaccurate. Force-closing the app, sometimes two or three times in a row, temporarily restored the app.
For others, this Waze behavior was encountered right after launch, while in some rare instances, the app stopped working in the middle of the drive.
Waze never acknowledged the problem publicly, but the most recent release candidate build fixes the freezing bug. Waze 4.92.0.1 resolves the glitch, but any subsequent update should do the same as well.
If you don’t see the beta update just yet, sideloading the APK allows you to download the latest build without waiting. Just keep in mind this method involved granting special permissions for the installation of apps from sources other than the Google Play Store.
The other highly anticipated update for Waze is the Coolwalk support. Announced in early January, Coolwalk brings a significant redesign to Android Auto, allowing users to run multiple apps side by side in so-called cards. Each card is assigned to a specific application, such as navigation and music. Navigation solutions are provided with the largest card on the screen, but they must be updated to support running in this mode.
So far, only Google Maps can provide navigation on Coolwalk. Waze has already confirmed it’s working on it, and the feature is now available in the beta program. Running Waze on Android Auto, with or without Coolwalk enabled, is only possible in the full-screen mode for now.
The rollout of Coolwalk also continues. Google enabled the new interface for the first users in early January, but the company did not share an ETA regarding the general availability. The redesign is activated in stages and is not tied to a specific Android Auto version. This means that new Android Auto updates don’t enable Coolwalk, so installing a specific version produces no improvement in this regard. The redesign is expected to become available to all Android Auto users by the end of the year.
Despite being owned by Google, Waze has been struggling with various errors on Android Auto, and the most recent caused the app to occasionally freeze.
In my car, the freezing typically occurred after the map was loaded. Waze did manage to determine my location, but the information was no longer updated as I started moving. As such, the provided route guidance was inaccurate. Force-closing the app, sometimes two or three times in a row, temporarily restored the app.
For others, this Waze behavior was encountered right after launch, while in some rare instances, the app stopped working in the middle of the drive.
Waze never acknowledged the problem publicly, but the most recent release candidate build fixes the freezing bug. Waze 4.92.0.1 resolves the glitch, but any subsequent update should do the same as well.
If you don’t see the beta update just yet, sideloading the APK allows you to download the latest build without waiting. Just keep in mind this method involved granting special permissions for the installation of apps from sources other than the Google Play Store.
The other highly anticipated update for Waze is the Coolwalk support. Announced in early January, Coolwalk brings a significant redesign to Android Auto, allowing users to run multiple apps side by side in so-called cards. Each card is assigned to a specific application, such as navigation and music. Navigation solutions are provided with the largest card on the screen, but they must be updated to support running in this mode.
So far, only Google Maps can provide navigation on Coolwalk. Waze has already confirmed it’s working on it, and the feature is now available in the beta program. Running Waze on Android Auto, with or without Coolwalk enabled, is only possible in the full-screen mode for now.
The rollout of Coolwalk also continues. Google enabled the new interface for the first users in early January, but the company did not share an ETA regarding the general availability. The redesign is activated in stages and is not tied to a specific Android Auto version. This means that new Android Auto updates don’t enable Coolwalk, so installing a specific version produces no improvement in this regard. The redesign is expected to become available to all Android Auto users by the end of the year.
Google News