Is Google's other navigation app going the wrong Waze?

As noted by autoevolution, navigation app Waze has been the recipient of many one-star reviews in the Google Play Store. One of the problems that has recently impacted Waze users was the breaking of dark mode on CarPlay in August. This resulted in retina-melting white light coming from the Waze app during the evening hours. It took about a month for Waze to disseminate a bug fix.

Waze is owned by Google and some of the best features that Waze has offered has already been included with Google Maps. These include allowing drivers to quickly share information about traffic, road repair, police activity, weather conditions, and more. The difference between the two is that while Google Maps will guide users on how to get from point "A" to point "B" quickly and safely, it will also recommend places for users to stay at their destination, where they can grab a good meal, or find entertainment.

Waze, on the other hand, is more focused on navigation and has some unique features such as using different voices, including the app user's own melodious tones, to guide him/her to the destination. Complaints about Waze found in the Play Store include problems with the app crashing, traffic support missing, planned trips disappearing, a lag that makes the app hard to use, and more. 

Others complain that Waze no longer provides fast routes like it used to and some say that the app sent them into the middle of heavy traffic. Users who have used the app say that the focus should be on bug fixes and features instead of giving them the option to use "useless features like silly voices."

Looking at a crystal ball, the future of Waze is not clear. Some believe that merging Waze with Google Maps would create a phenomenal navigation and travel app, but autoevolution's sources say that Google has no plans to combine the two apps. The gang out in Mountain View still wants Maps and Waze to work independently, but closely.

Google did move the two teams together and they share work space, and Google Ads took over ad sales from Waze's own marketing team. But is Waze slowly being shown the back door? There are many users who seem to stick with Google Maps no matter what. For example, with its focus on navigation, you'd expect Waze to be favored by ride-share drivers who don't need to know about the accommodations or restaurants available at a destination.

Very few ride-share drivers that I've seen use Waze and most stick to Google Maps. If Google is serious about keeping Waze around, it needs to find out why these drivers won't use Waze. Personally, I find the navigation UI on Google Maps and Apple Maps to be much easier to use, but you might think otherwise.