Google Maps is beginning to add a couple of other key features from Waze. This includes crash and speed trap alerts. Two features that made Waze very popular.
Like Waze, Google Maps is doing this via crowdsourcing. So if you are traveling along and see a crash, you can add it to the location in Google Maps. This can be very helpful, as people are able to see why traffic is so slow in a certain area, it’s because of a crash. And of course, the speed trap alerts are great for those that do like to go over the speed limit. As they’ll be able to keep from getting a ticket.
These features appear to be in testing, and not fully rolled out just yet. There are a few users on Reddit seeing the changes, however we are not seeing it on any of the devices here. It could also be part of a staged rollout. Something Google does quite often.
Google has been slowly adding some of Waze’s most popular features into its own maps app. Just last week, it began adding Speed Limit signs into the app, so that users know how fast they are supposed to be going in a given area. Something that Waze has had for many, many years. It is now adding two of Waze’s other popular features, which are Crash and Speed Trap Alerts. It likely won’t be long before Google adds in some of the other features, like reporting that there is a cop in the area.
Waze was popular because of these features, as it allowed drivers to avoid certain areas due to the bad traffic, and also avoid the cops so they weren’t getting tickets. Waze became popular, and it was popular enough that Google bought it. Google bought Waze in 2013 for about $1.15 billion. Now nearly six years later, it looks like Google is finally preparing to kill off the app, by adding its most popular features into Google Maps. It took a bit longer than many thought it would, but it is happening.
Now, it is not confirmed that Google is killing off Waze, but with them adding in all of Waze’s most popular features to Google Maps. One has to wonder if this is the beginning of the end for Waze. If so, it’s been a good ride. But if not, why keep the two around? Of course, this is Google we’re talking about, which currently has seven messaging apps.
It would see that those in the Google Maps and Waze team actually know what they want to do, versus the messaging team. Whereas Google has about seven messaging apps, versus just two for maps and navigation. Though at this point, the two do seem to be overlapping a bit, when it comes to features. Google may keep Waze around, as some do prefer to use Waze over Google Maps, and that could be due to the user interface that Waze has. It’s a bit better than Google Maps.