Google Maps and Waze are good at different things, and it’s a huge road travel problem

To kick off the summer, my family and I hiked over 2000 miles round trip to Texas. Our ship was a 2017 Ford F150, pulling a 21ft cargo trailer which we converted to an RV. We hiked all the way from Kansas to Padre Island National Seashore, so we could camp on the beach for a few nights with friends. The experience was fantastic, but the driving experience could have been a bit better if the feature parity between Google Maps and Waze on Android Auto was more consistent.

When I bought my truck in December 2019, I was so excited to discover the vehicle supporting Android Auto, a first for me. Although my truck’s main unit does not support a wireless connection, I still like to use Android Auto. From Google Assistant with its communications to music streaming integrations, it’s great, especially its navigation features.

Until I started using Android Auto, I used Google Maps exclusively whenever I needed help navigating anywhere. Google Maps has so many useful features, and most importantly, I know it, which is essential when trying to get around a place you are not used to. But Android Auto made me want to try new apps, and I knew a few people who loved using Waze. So I thought I would try it.

And you know what? I really like it. I like the way it shows the names of roads, gas stations, hotels, and restaurants more frequently without zooming in. I also appreciate the data from users regarding construction and road hazards. Plus, the fun things that are added periodically, such as the voices of celebrities like Boy George during Pride Month or the icons of dog and cat carriages going on right now, make every car ride something special. new to search.

Source: Android Central

In 2013, Google acquired Waze. Since then, some of these user-offered features have started to show up in Google Maps. The two applications work independently, but because the same company owns both, some resources are shared. While I appreciate it, not as much of Google Maps functionality has returned to Waze as I would like.

Juggle Android Auto apps on the go

I decided to start our road trip using Waze as a navigator to get to our destination as quickly and safely as possible. As I was planning my trip, I wanted to be sure to save the route and surrounding area for offline use in case I found myself in areas without cell coverage. Google Maps lets you download a specific trip or just a specific region, while Waze only – as far as I could find – lets you download your route as a planned trip.

From an environmental, time saving and financial point of view, I would like to get better fuel mileage, but frequent stops are welcome with children on board.

From the start, things worked out like a charm when he started educating me about the dangers of the road and construction areas. But I started to notice a great disparity in features when it was time to refuel.

My truck is a half-ton vehicle with a 3.5L twin-turbo engine, and I’m typically averaging around 19 MPG. While pulling my converted motorhome, weighing around 5700 lbs fully loaded, I get a fabulous 8-9MPG. That meant I had plenty of stops to make on the 2,000+ mile trip, and with a 20 gallon tank of fuel, I needed to know for sure how far my next fill-up was.

There are many great Android apps out there, but not all of them have an Android Auto equivalent, and even the best features of Android Auto apps are paired from their smartphone apps. This is done for a few reasons, but mainly to limit the number of interactions required from the driver. Because the more the driver looks at the screen to choose a function, the less he looks at the road.

Sadly, one of Waze’s missing Android Auto features – which Google Maps has – found a stop along the way. This is a major problem when traveling. The Waze phone app allows it, but Android Auto turns it off when your vehicle is in motion. With Google Maps, however, you can add a stop in a number of ways, even by voice, while driving.

So after repeatedly asking my wife to use her phone for Google Maps and find out how far away the next gas station was, I switched to Google Maps in Android Auto on the next refuel. Yes, we could have continued to juggle the two navigation apps, but it wasn’t convenient, and she had to become my step-by-step assistant – something neither of us liked.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had really missed the real-time traffic and road condition data provided by Waze. The data from Google Maps was not entirely missing, but the data was generally lagged, not as detailed, or (in some cases) actually missing.

Using Android Auto for a long road trip is wonderful. Waze and Google Maps can do a fantastic job of getting you where you need to go. But as a driver, it’s essential that I have constant access to information that will allow me to feel comfortable and in control. Knowing that there is debris on the road before you get there, that there is a car stopped by the side of the road, or how far away the next fuel stop is along your route, all it prepares you mentally for stressful situations.

You shouldn’t have to fumble with multiple apps to get that peace of mind, whether you’re covering 2,000 miles or a much shorter distance.

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