Slightly off topic, but I get a lot of frustration from Google Maps. Waze works well for me, while GMaps don't. So seeing those two merge more is bad news for me.<p>Google Maps is one of the services which actually does some minor damage to me. Delivery drivers usually blame me for not finding my street, while GMaps data is what is the problem. I've had one delivery person stuck in snow and require technical assistance in another street, because Google Maps shows my street there.<p>I cannot get Google to change my street name to correct legal one.I've tried 'suggesting an edit' it at least 10 times. There is no support to contact to or anything. I've looked. They say I don't have any proof that my suggested street name is correct - but I even add a link to Google Street view which has a literal street sign with correct name and coordinates. I tried official street registry links. Still rejected. It is insane.<p>I personally can use openstreetmap.org, but delivery drivers and etc. - they don't use it. So I am stuck in this non-sense.
Maybe Waze will bring some of the good UX choices over from Maps. Like not increasing my risk of crashing by making me click past warning screens, or silently closing itself in the background, or again making me take my eyes off the road to hit the "are you really really sure you want to close Waze?" popup instead of just damn closing when I hammer the Back button.
The only thing that keeps me from completely using Google Maps over Waze is the speed trap reporting (Google Maps has a similar feature, but it’s not nearly as effective as Waze’s).
I will be very sad on the day when Google decides to kill Waze. It is the only Google product I use and I will never abandon it because of one personal reason: it allows users to record custom voice for directions.<p>My wife recorded her voice in Waze and I love hearing from her telling me "turn left, honey", "be careful, there's cops ahead!"...etc.
Didnt they say that they would always be separate teams? Im not surprised by this move but surprised because I could swear when they bought it they said they would maintain both teams...
Makes sense. I’m surprised they weren’t already by this point.<p>What’s the benefit of Waze being a separate app at this point besides the brand name? Why not just fold it into the main Maps app?
The Founder/CEO of Waze wrote a terrific, in-depth post on his decision to leave Google two years ago:
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-did-i-leave-google-stay-so-long-noam-bardin" rel="nofollow">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-did-i-leave-google-stay-s...</a><p>Very insightful post. And as much as a reader might think it highlights dysfunction at Google, the continued growth and success of Waze within Google argues otherwise.
If anyone at Gooogle is wondering why they are going through this pain or might have been fired it is because TCI, which is an activist hedge fund, decided they want to make more money and they have a giant share of ownership of Alphabet stock.<p>TCI sent Google a letter [1] telling them they need to cut people to get higher margins (>40%) as well as pay the investors more (stock buybacks).<p>Google is choosing to do what this group of investors says instead of supporting it's employees.<p>Just so you know.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.tcifund.com/files/corporateengageement/alphabet/15th%20November%202022.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.tcifund.com/files/corporateengageement/alphabet/...</a><p>Edit: This data came from me asking myself of the headline "ok who is it that is putting "Pressure to Cut Costs" on Google." Luckily TCI made it really clear
Soon... Waze to be renamed as Google Maps. Old Google Maps will continue to be available for Google Enterprise customers and will continue to be called Google Maps. /s
I still use waze almost exclusively and it's consistently the best way to "plan" a future drive and have a reasonable expectation of traffic and when to leave.
I found this section interesting (of the TCI letter referenced in posts above) and I wonder how much this is factoring into Google exec thinking?<p>> <i>Reduce losses in Other Bets</i><p>> <i>Over the last five years, Other Bets has generated only $3 billion of cumulative revenues but incurred a massive $20 billion of cumulative operating losses.
Alphabet's investments in Other Bets have been unsuccessful. Alphabet should reduce annual operating losses in Other Bets (which we expect to amount to $6 billion this year) by at least 50%</i>.<p>> <i>The biggest component of Other Bets is Waymo. Unfortunately, enthusiasm for self-driving cars has collapsed and competitors have exited the market. Ford and Volkswagen recently decided to shut down their self-driving car venture, saying: "We have looked at this every way you can and we just see the profitability a long way out." Waymo has not justified its excessive investment and its losses should be reduced dramatically</i>.<p>And is this kind of thinking just bandwagon, and not potentially accounting for some distinctive performance that Waymo may be on the verge of? (of course, seems like every AV company promises they're on the verge of something breakthrough)
Some day we'll have the technology to report speed traps via CarPlay. I'm guessing that they got a lot of pressure to nerf this feature from law enforcement, as crowdsourcing realtime info on speed traps kinda ruins it for the cops by giving everyone using Google Maps a very powerful long-distance detector.
Surprised they didn't merge Waze features into G Maps and discontinue Waze as a separate app long ago (could still have Waze app that's a wrapper around Google Maps)
I like Waze on many things, but it can be a bit sluggish and dated looking. Police reporting, and traffic routes are sometimes just better. You can also chat with a fellow Wazer ahead of you to see what's going on. Google Maps though is generally superior on app performance and any need for walking, mass transit, etc.
This is an acquisition that should've been blocked. They only bought Waze to kill the competition and making sure no one else buys them. I know Waze did things differently, being much more crowd sourced, but it's not why they bought them.
I had a disastrous drive with Google Maps recently where my family's lives were in peril... <a href="https://joelx.com/first-fifth-wheel-road-trip/17702/" rel="nofollow">https://joelx.com/first-fifth-wheel-road-trip/17702/</a><p>I used to have a high level of trust in Google Maps, but starting six months ago or so, the directions got substantially worse.
To be honest, Google Maps has degraded in quality and popularity ever since it came out. Other options have become more popular, so I guess Google is going to combine this with Waze and try and make one final effort to become the best navigation app.<p>I think this is for the best of Google's interest.
This is great news! It's about time! I was so excited to see the instant, crowdsourced traffic news in the Maps app. I was shocked when they didn't integrate right away. I use Waze for most drives but then have to switch to Maps for better business info
I was never too fond of the GUI of Waze. Luckly there is some neat development in "adjusting" that: <a href="https://highwayradar.com/" rel="nofollow">https://highwayradar.com/</a>
I'd wager Maps is going to become more real-time, like showing a blob where a current festival is, mapping the trajectory of a scheduled protest, local activities. Like they did with forest fires.
Related post on the Waze forum: <a href="https://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=367207" rel="nofollow">https://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=367207</a>
Not sure if this is good or bad, but I hope they've removed the current Google Maps product owner - their maps have sent me down very dangerous roads (especially in France and Poland) - once it tried to send me up the side of a mountain to get to the back of an Obsevatory - rather than via the front door.<p>They keep doing UX changes which mess with muscle memory, that already make their product more unsafe - rather than improve the product itself.
The most frustrating thing about Waze is that it doesn't have offline maps. I get that the main selling point is live traffic data, but that's not necessarily an either/or with offline maps.
Uh-oh. I can easily imagine how Waze gets Google-transmogrified into something that's only 80% useful to the average person, instead of 95% useful.<p>Google, I'm sorry I never clicked on any of those Waze ads for petrol stations or fast food.