autoevolution
 

Three Upcoming Waze Features That Make Google Maps Look Obsolete

If you’re looking for a navigation app to help you get to a given destination faster, easier, and safer, there’s no doubt that Google Maps and Waze should be among the top picks.
Waze on CarPlay 7 photos
Photo: autoevolution
Waze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlay
Both come with impressive navigation capabilities, but at the end of the day, they are completely different animals.

Waze, for instance, relies on a crowdsourcing engine that allows users to send traffic reports on what they come across on the road. Users can report anything from traffic jams to broken lights, roadkill, fog, and so on.

Using all these reports, as well as aggregate data from devices where the app is running, Waze can find a faster route to a defined destination, all by taking into account the regions and incidents that could slow you down. At the same time, it also makes the driving journey overall a lot more predictable, as it makes it possible for drivers to be in the know about what’s happening ahead on the road.

Waze is often considered one of the best – if not really the best – alternatives to Google Maps, and some of the features that the company is working on would add more weight to this statement.

Settings to ignore repetitive alerts

Let’s be honest about it: while the alerts issued by both Waze and Google Maps come in super-handy, they sometimes become rather annoying, especially when getting the same alert over and over again.

For example, one of the things I hate the most about Waze is that it always (but always!) alerts me of a pothole that’s literally 100 meters away from home. The alert pops up on the screen when I leave home, and there’s no way to block it from showing up again.

Waze has already confirmed that it’s working on an option to make the whole experience less intrusive. It’s not precisely clear how this new feature would work, but on the other hand, one way to improve Waze on this front is to only show the location of the report on the map, without also bringing forward an alert.

For now, the feature is still in the works, and an ETA as to when it could launch isn’t yet available.

Waze on CarPlay
Photo: autoevolution

School zone alerts

If there’s one thing that sets Waze apart from the rest of the navigation apps out there, it’s the large community of users which not only reports incidents on the road but also helps keep the maps up-to-date.

This is why making some features happen is quite easy, especially as the map editors would be able to step in and help provide the necessary information.

This is why school zone alerts are now on the roadmap, with Waze planning to bring this feature to the application in the coming updates. It’s not difficult to figure out how the whole thing would work: whenever you’re approaching a school zone (which typically comes with new restrictions in place, including speed limits), you should see a warning on the screen.

Waze says it wants to introduce this feature “in the near future,” but on the other hand, no other specifics were provided, so you'd better not hold your breath for it.

Waze on CarPlay
Photo: autoevolution

Speed bump warnings

In so many ways, speed bumps are a necessary evil. Nobody likes them, but they do serve their purpose just right, as they make drivers slow down and therefore make the roads safer for pretty much everybody.

The Google-owned company is working on adding the location of speed bumps on the map, and once again, the large userbase should come to the rescue on this front.

The way Waze works means drivers are sometimes routed through residential areas where coming across kids that are playing on the street or cars parked on both sides of the road is something very common. Most such regions come with one or more speed bumps, so being aware of their location is pretty important for drivers, especially because they are often sent to roads they’ve never used before.

At this point, however, it’s not yet clear how Waze wants to integrate speed bump warnings into the application. As I see it, the company can either let users out there report the location of speed bumps, just like they do when flagging a pothole, for instance, or turn to its map editors to do the same thing.

Once again, the parent company hasn’t shared any ETA in this regard, so you’d better not hold your breath for speed bump warnings to make their way to Waze.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories