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Waze Receives New Update on iPhone and CarPlay, You’ll Probably Want to Install It ASAP

A new Waze update is now available on the iPhone, bringing the app version to 4.91. The Google-owned company claims the new release improves the way the distance to the destination is measured when searching for new addresses.
Waze on CarPlay 7 photos
Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Waze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlay
Waze continues to be one of the leading navigation apps, and the one that sets it apart from the crowd is the built-in crowdsourcing engine. Thanks to this feature, users are allowed to share information on the hazards they come across while driving, therefore letting others know what’s happening on the road in advance.

As a result, the navigation app is also able to look for faster routes to a defined destination, especially as it’s supposed to know precisely where drivers could end up facing a traffic jam or coming across an accident or other hazards that would slow them down.

Just like every other navigation app out there, Waze also provides users with information on the distance to the destination. Version 4.91 is specifically supposed to make these details more accurate from the moment you search for a new address.

Waze is able to display the estimated distance to a location using the built-in autocomplete feature in the search box. This means you see possible destinations as you type, along with the estimated distance to every result.

The latest update includes further optimizations for this feature, as Waze says that in some cases, the information that was displayed here wasn’t accurate. After the update to version 4.91, the provided distance should be spot-on, with no differences versus the numbers shown on the navigation screen whatsoever.

While this is a welcome fix for users of this app, there’s no doubt that the big news on the Waze front is the support for the big Android Auto redesign referred to by everybody as Coolwalk.

Waze has finally been updated to work on the new Android Auto interface, so it can now run in the dedicated navigation card in the split-view screen. Just like Google Maps, Waze can adapt to the current layout, so it can be used both in vertical and landscape orientations.

Similar to the card-based implementation available on CarPlay, Waze displays the essential information on Android Auto, including the current speed and traffic reports. On the other hand, the big difference versus the way Waze works on the CarPlay dashboard is the support for sending reports right from the card-based UI. This way, users don’t have to toggle to the full-screen experience to send a new traffic report, as it’s all possible right from the navigation card.

The new feature is available for Waze users who are enrolled in the beta program, but it should start rolling out to everybody out there in the coming weeks.
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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.
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