Waze has launched a big new UI revamp, with everything from colors through to how individual members are represented changing in the refreshed navigation app. Promising to be more lively and visually attention-grabbing than most apps, the new Waze also builds on what the Google-owned company calls Moods.
Navigation app Waze has finally added a feature that users have been requesting for years, one that helps you get where you're going without any last-minute chaos. Called lane guidance, the feature alerts users about which lane they need to be in for any upcoming turns or exits, though it is only available to beta users at this point in time.
Waze, the navigation app owned by Google, is popular due in part to its report functionality, which enables drivers to submit reports that help other drivers avoid various issues on the road. The latest update to this feature is the ability to report when a road hasn't yet been plowed, a key warning that will help many drivers avoid troublesome roads during the winter months.
Public transportation app Moovit has announced a new pilot program that integrates the Waze Carpool service with its own mobile app. Moovit is designed to generate routes involving public transportation options; Waze, of course, is a navigation app that helps drivers get where they're going with alerts about related things like law enforcement checkpoints and accidents.
High-fidelity music streaming service TIDAL has announced an integration with the Waze navigation app, making it easier for drivers to pull up their favorite albums and playlists while on the road. The new integration joins a number of other streaming services that are already available directly through the app, including Spotify, Deezer, and Pandora.
Waze is getting YouTube Music integration, bringing more streamlined access to streaming music to the navigation app without having to jump between the two. The update pulls everything from albums and playlists, through personalized mixes, into Waze's new app.
Waze is getting a new Carpool calendar, with the popular navigation app adding features that should make managing group trips easier - and might let you secure the front seat, too. The Waze Carpool calendar is part scheduling tool and part social network, and builds on the initial carpooling app which the Google-owned service launched back in 2017.
Waze is adding toll prices to its navigation guidance, flagging up just how much trips across North America and Israel will actually cost when paid routes are taken into consideration. The new feature is being added from today in the US, Canada, and Israel, and will be able to show an estimated cost of each potential trip in addition to how long a drive, and how far, they'll involve.
The Google Assistant continues its spread, with Google's much-appreciated Waze app adding support for the voice technology in the name of better avoiding traffic - or reporting it. Waze relies on driver reports of traffic congestion, road issues, and other factors that might affect motorists, but until now it has demanded you take your hands off the wheel in order to submit them.
In October, navigation app Waze launched an in-app audio player with support for a handful of popular audio sources. This feature is designed to provide drivers with direct access to their favorite audio content, minimizing distractions and eliminating the need to toggle between apps. In its most recent update, the company has added Android support for the music streaming service Deezer.
Navigation app Waze is popular in part because of the extra information it provides to drivers, namely alerts about upcoming wrecks, traffic conditions, speed traps, and checkpoints. The latter two alert types have caused friction with law enforcement officials who, in some past instances, have attempted to feed fake alerts to dilute the real warnings. In the latest example of contention over the feature, the New York Police Department has sent Google a cease-and-desist letter.
Waze is expanding its Beacons program to help drivers in New York City stay connected while in a traffic tunnel. Driving a car within one of these concrete tunnels typically results in a connectivity blackout, meaning the navigation app can no longer get a GPS signal. Waze Beacons help deal with this problem using Bluetooth to transmit data to phones as an alternative to a GPS signal.