Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Despite all Apple Maps improvements released lately, Waze continues to be one of the top navigation apps on iPhone and CarPlay.
Apple is working around the clock on upgrading the Apple Maps experience, and the detailed city experience is living proof. Most users still switch to Google Maps and Waze, primarily because of the lack of features in Apple Maps.
Waze remains a unique presence in the navigation space, mainly thanks to its crowdsourcing engine. With traffic reports, Waze is always aware of traffic conditions, so its suggested routes are typically accurate and faster than in other navigation apps.
However, Waze still needs essential refinements, and the frequent updates released by the parent company are regularly aimed at fixing bugs, with new features landing very slowly. For example, Waze promised to bring warnings for speed bumps nearly two years ago, but the feature is still unavailable.
The most recent Waze update for iOS devices follows the same recipe and includes an important fix for iPhone and CarPlay users.
Version 4.97 address a glitch that prevented some users from setting their car's fuel type. Because of this bug, users could no longer see relevant gas prices, Waze explains.
The expected behavior returns with the latest update, so update Waze to version 4.97 if you use the application for gas price information.
In the meantime, Waze still has many other problems to address on Apple devices, and one of the most critical concerns the recent mysterious changes to very popular features.
Expanding traffic reports is no longer allowed for some iPhone users, making accessing additional information about a road incident impossible. Theoretically, it'd make sense for Waze to restrict access to more context on a traffic report when the vehicle is in motion. Still, the feature is no longer available if the car is parked. Oddly enough, Waze still allows some users to expand traffic reports on iPhone and Android, so it's unclear if the company is experimenting with this change or if the update has rolled out in stages.
The CarPlay interface has also received an awful update, making it much harder to look for alternate routes. With every update, the buttons get a new position on the screen, and looking for new routes now involves more touches. The experience with a navigation app should be as straightforward as possible, as drivers aren't supposed to look at the screen for too long. Unfortunately, these changes are already live for all users, and Waze doesn't seem interested in reverting them.
You can find the latest version in the App Store if you want to install it. If you enabled automatic updates, the new build is likely already up and running on your iPhone.
Waze remains a unique presence in the navigation space, mainly thanks to its crowdsourcing engine. With traffic reports, Waze is always aware of traffic conditions, so its suggested routes are typically accurate and faster than in other navigation apps.
However, Waze still needs essential refinements, and the frequent updates released by the parent company are regularly aimed at fixing bugs, with new features landing very slowly. For example, Waze promised to bring warnings for speed bumps nearly two years ago, but the feature is still unavailable.
The most recent Waze update for iOS devices follows the same recipe and includes an important fix for iPhone and CarPlay users.
Version 4.97 address a glitch that prevented some users from setting their car's fuel type. Because of this bug, users could no longer see relevant gas prices, Waze explains.
The expected behavior returns with the latest update, so update Waze to version 4.97 if you use the application for gas price information.
In the meantime, Waze still has many other problems to address on Apple devices, and one of the most critical concerns the recent mysterious changes to very popular features.
Expanding traffic reports is no longer allowed for some iPhone users, making accessing additional information about a road incident impossible. Theoretically, it'd make sense for Waze to restrict access to more context on a traffic report when the vehicle is in motion. Still, the feature is no longer available if the car is parked. Oddly enough, Waze still allows some users to expand traffic reports on iPhone and Android, so it's unclear if the company is experimenting with this change or if the update has rolled out in stages.
The CarPlay interface has also received an awful update, making it much harder to look for alternate routes. With every update, the buttons get a new position on the screen, and looking for new routes now involves more touches. The experience with a navigation app should be as straightforward as possible, as drivers aren't supposed to look at the screen for too long. Unfortunately, these changes are already live for all users, and Waze doesn't seem interested in reverting them.
You can find the latest version in the App Store if you want to install it. If you enabled automatic updates, the new build is likely already up and running on your iPhone.
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