Key Takeaways
- Google Maps is getting improved hazard reporting, as well as help with parking at buildings.
- Waze is adding “traffic events,” more camera types, and lockscreen alerts.
- Some of the new features are available immediately, while others are coming later.
Google on Tuesday began rolling out some pretty significant changes to both of its navigation apps, Google Maps and Waze. In Maps, it’s now easier to report hazards like crashes, police, or construction by tapping a yellow triangle icon while driving is underway, popping up a refreshed menu of hazard types. Once you’ve selected one, you’ll still have a brief window to cancel in case you made a mistake.
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In “the coming weeks,” Maps will also solve a couple of long-standing problems with navigation apps — namely identifying the entrance to a building and where to park. As you near a destination, Maps will highlight the building, the entrance, and any nearby parking lots. We’re not sure how well this will be supported outside of major US cities, but Google is promising a global release of all the new Maps features to Android and iOS, including Android Auto and CarPlay.
What’s coming to Waze?
Waze has always been known for its hazard reporting, but what’s new is that you can now identify more camera types. Apart from speed and red light cameras, you’ll see flags for ones tracking seatbelts, phone use, or being in a protected lane such as a bus or carpool route. Some cameras track multiple violations, in which case you should see the specifics marked.
Google is also introducing the concept of “traffic events,” which will trigger a notification if you’ve recently been in a particular area or have saved locations around it. You’ll be told about the cause of an event — say, the Olympic Games, if you’re in Paris — as well as road closures and general traffic congestion. You can tap a button to plot a route around impacted roads.
These changes should already be hitting some Android and iOS devices. Over the next few months, both platforms will also be getting lockscreen navigation alerts, so you won’t be in the dark when your phone is in sleep mode. Note that iOS lockscreen support is due sometime this fall, which could mean that Google is waiting for the arrival of iOS 18.
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