Mobile App Review - Waze

 The app that I will be reviewing this week is Waze.  Waze is a map / driving app that helps drivers get where they are going faster as well as safer.  Waze is a crowd-sourced app in the fact that it has the base maps like Apple Maps or Google Maps or a native car navigation system but it adds one more element of real time crowd-sourced information.  When drivers (called “Wazers”) are using the app, they can click on a bubble on the screen to report a number of things like road construction, accidents or even radar traps.  This information not only allows drivers to know what lies ahead on their trek but it also allows Waze to offer alternate routes if necessary.  Below is a screengrab of a list of reports ahead. 

   

Waze also has a neat feature that can help you find parking at or near your destination.  This is of particular help when attending a concert or sporting event in a metropolitan area as pictured below 

 

 

A really nice feature of Waze is the ability to have a music app like Spotify or Amazon Music integrated into the app and right into your map.  The music integration is very seamless and works very well.  (See Below) 

 

Another useful feature of the navigation function on Waze (perhaps the most useful in my opinion) is that the app tells you which lane to be in prior to making a turn or exiting a highway before you need to turn or exit.  This is especially useful when driving in unfamiliar places which is oftentimes when one would use a navigation app like Waze.   

Although Waze is an excellent app in my opinion (and also the opinion of its 140 MILLION monthly users), there a few areas where the app could be improved.  The first is better integration with Apple Carplay or Android Auto.  When hooking up to Carplay, the screensize moves from maybe 6 inches up to 8-12 inches which is a lot of space where additional content could be added but it is not.  It would be nice to see additional features on the extra screen real estate when connected to the CarPlay system.  That would be a very welcome feature.   

Another useful feature that would be extremely welcomed would be for Waze to show links to local radio station live streams based on location.  Again, oftentimes when one is using a navigation app like Waze it is when they are out of town and don’t have their local stations so instead of hitting the scan button on the FM dial it would be very helpful to have a small list of local stations available at your fingertips.  This could also be easily integrated into Apple Carplay.   

The last suggestion for improvement for Waze would be the addition of Amber Alerts.  This would be a wonderful addition as it would contribute to the safety of individuals (especially children) and one would imagine be an easy addition to make to the app given it already has location based services embedded in the app.   

In conclusion, Waze is a terrific app that has proven to be very useful to literally hundreds of millions of drivers and users over the past several years.  When “on the road” it is my first choice of navigation or mapping apps. 

Dove, J. (2021, March 26). How to use Waze: A simple guide. Digital Trends. Retrieved July 20, 2022, from https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-use-waze/  

Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2019). Computing technology for all. zyBooks.