I’ve been a Google Maps user ever since it launched in 2005 as a web-browser tool.
I remember printing directions to navigate the streets of London and using it in the browser on my BlackBerry Bold 9000.
But when I saw a friend use Waze on a recent road trip to Palm Springs, I wanted to try it for myself.
I used Waze for a few months, then I realized it wasn’t for me.
How Waze tempted me to switch from Google Maps
It was worth a shot
For what it’s worth, Waze is extremely useful at what it does, and it was enough for me to try it for a few months.
If you haven’t used Waze before, it’s essentially a community-driven navigation app. It relies on user reports to give drivers a heads-up about obstacles they may face during a commute.
Are there any road hazards? Chances are someone has reported it.
Is there Police presence or speed cameras? I get notified promptly before I reach the spot.
I cannot emphasize more how helpful these alerts were to me, especially during the monsoons in India.
No wonder Google Maps borrowed some of these features from Waze. They are actually quite useful.
The interface is clean and free of clutter. Coming from Google Maps, the cleaner setup felt like a breath of fresh air, especially during harrowing traffic.
Another feature I highly appreciated is its built-in audio player, which lets me control YouTube Music and Spotify.
It removed the need for me to navigate menus in Android Auto every time I wanted to change a playlist or the app.
I could do it from within Waze.
The icing on the cake was that I could customize the voice that would give me directions.
I was surprised that I could use Master Chief or Cortana’s voice for alerts. As a massive Halo fan, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to feel like a Spartan in my car.
To switch to a different voice in Waze, go to Settings > Voice and sound > Waze voice.
You can also upload your own voice packs to Waze if you want to customize your experience.
I use pipeeeeees’ repository on GitHub. It hosts copious amounts of celebrity and character voices, and installing them is straightforward.
When you stack the features together, Waze sounds like an incredible navigation app. I can see why many Waze users are staunch supporters of the app and prefer it over Google Maps.
But after a few months, I realized that while Waze is a better navigation app than Google Maps in certain respects, I still preferred to use the latter.
Why I went back to Google Maps after a few months
The honeymoon period was over
While I enjoyed my time with Waze, I wasn’t fully satisfied with the experience.
I appreciated the alerts and customization options in Waze, but my rose-tinted glasses had started to come off.
Waze is known for frequently rerouting your commute, quite aggressively. I often found myself stuck on back roads or patchy service lanes that would only save a few minutes or, at times, seconds in my daily commute.
It’s a great feature to have when you’re stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic jams, but for shorter routes? It got annoying real quick.
I wasn’t sure if I was saving enough time because there were many instances where the main road had less traffic and was a smoother ride.
Waze is also quite alert-happy when it comes to voice prompts. Even after turning on the Less Chatty option, I still found Waze interrupting music or my peace with voice prompts more often than I wanted.
On Google Maps, I can mute the voice prompts and never hear any alerts again.
Google Maps also borrowed the incident-reporting feature, which, in my opinion, was the main differentiator for Waze.
Google Maps also excels in one key department that is non-existent in Waze: looking up businesses and their relevant information.
I’m often out and about visiting cafés, restaurants, charging locations, and other businesses throughout my work week.
But Waze isn’t ideal for looking up businesses. Google Maps, on the other hand, lets me view images, reviews, and other relevant information.
Waze also does not have the option to look up Street View, making it harder to find parking or locate businesses hiding in small nooks.
One feature I love about Google Maps is the ability to download offline maps and keep them periodically updated.
Waze does not have an official offline map feature, which can be cumbersome when going through low-network areas.
Offline maps are also handy when you’re traveling, especially to off-beat or unfamiliar locations that could have patchy data connectivity.
Another feature I missed in Waze was the option to use different modes of transport.
I can use public transport, cycle, walk, or use a ride-share app from within Google Maps. Waze doesn’t have any of these options and can also be used by motorists.
These are a few of the issues I faced during my stint with Waze, which prevented me from ditching Google Maps.
However, there are plenty of other features I missed in Waze. Here are some of them from my list:
- Deeper Gemini integration
- 3D route previews
- No Directions using Landmarks as reference points
Why I’m sticking with Google Maps
Trying out a different navigation app like Waze was adventurous and eye-opening for me. I can see why some users switch from Google Maps to Waze. But for me, it wasn’t enough.
Google Maps is more feature-rich and gives me the versatility that Waze doesn’t offer. Unfortunately, after experiencing Waze for a few months, Google Maps still takes the cake.
I still use Waze when I’m in a sticky situation, but I guess old habits die hard.