Listening to music, podcasts, and audiobooks while driving can make or break your commutes and long road trips. Engaging audio content keeps you entertained and alert, but you don't want to get your eyes off the road to switch between your navigation app and music app simply to skip ahead or rewind. This is why Waze added Spotify integration last year, and is now expanding its in-app player to seven more partners.
Read MoreWaze Carpool expands to the entire US
We've all been stuck in traffic from time to time, and you might have noticed something interesting. Almost all the cars clogging the roads carry a single person, which seems like a terrible waste, right? Waze Carpool aims to change that by making it easier to catch a lift in the morning. After trialing Carpool in a few cities, Waze is now rolling it out across the US.
Read MoreWaze now works in standalone Android Auto on your phone
When Waze finally added support for Android Auto last year, it unfortunately required a proper Auto head unit, a discovery that tainted the good news. That's no longer the case as Waze recently started working in the standalone version of Auto, the one that uses your phone as a display and doesn't necessitate any other additional gear.
Read MoreGoogle Maps now showing Waze-like incident confirmation prompts for some
One of the main differentiators that Waze has over its competitors, including Google Maps, is user interaction. Wazers can report accidents, road closures, police car sightings, and so on, all of which helps other users out. It's what makes the app so popular. Google Maps has already pulled data from Waze for many years, though it looks like more features from it are coming.
Read MoreGoogle Maps v9.79 gives scores to restaurants based on your personal tastes, prepares Waze-like incident reporting and much more [APK Teardown]
Updates to Google Maps have been a bit quieter over the last few months as fewer features come to each update than we're accustomed to. A recent announcement revealed this time has been spent on some cool new predictive features that will help users find restaurants, events, and other places that match their taste and style. The first stage of those new features, scoring for places that match your tastes, is going live now. There are also signs of many of the other previously announced features, Waze-style incident reporting, and more.
Read MoreWaze Carpool is now available in Washington State
Commuters in the Evergreen State have a new option for getting around: Waze Carpool is now available in Washington. Waze says it chose Washington as its new location for the program largely because the state already has a large number of Waze users, with more than 375,000 in Seattle alone.
Read More[Update: Official] Ride-sharing app Waze Carpool updated to version 2.0 with option to pick preferred riders
Waze is well known for its eponymous GPS navigation app, but what you might not know is that Waze also has a ride-sharing service called Waze Carpool that's in some ways (no pun intended) similar to Uber or Lyft. Carpool lets drivers get paid to use their own car to pick up and drop off passengers, and it allows riders to request a ride from point A to point B. However, unlike Uber and Lyft, Waze Carpool isn't meant to be used as a ride-hailing service — instead, it's only meant as a way for two or more coworkers (or people who work in the same general location) to share a ride to and from work.
Read MoreWaze adds new Chinese voices to celebrate the Chinese New Year
Waze is a pretty popular navigation app, even among Google diehards. In fact, Google actually bought Waze way back in 2013 for a little over one billion dollars and uses some of the data sourced by Waze in Google Maps. For many people who drive for a living or just happen to be on the road a lot, Waze's extra features when compared to Google Maps are something they just can't live without.
Today, in celebration of the Chinese New Year, Waze has announced that it's bringing improved Mandarin (both in Simplified and Traditional Chinese) voices to its app.
Read MoreThe Best Of AP
Liam Neeson has a very particular set of skills, and one of them is being a Waze voiceover
Waze frequently features celebrity voiceovers, but none of the people behind them had a set of skills as particular as the newest entrant's. Actor Liam Neeson's voice has made its way to Waze, meaning that you can now be navigated by the protagonist of Taken himself.
Read MoreWaze updated with motorcycle routing, voice commands, and HOV route support
Waze is owned by Google but it offers a different experience than Google Maps. Waze emphasizes data from the community and tends to include more experimental features. Today, it's getting three new features that Waze says have been among the most frequently requested by users. Some of the new features will only matter if you've got certain driving habits or vehicles, but the voice command improvements will be useful to more Wazers.
Read MoreLatest Deals
-
8
Nvidia Shield Black Friday 50% off sale includes Tomb Raider, Super Meat Boy, and more
-
9
8 great pre-Black Friday tech deals you can get right now
-
6
Doom 3: BFG Edition for Nvidia Shield TV is $5 (half off) for Black Friday
-
3
Asus Chromebook C223 drops to $200 at various retailers ($30 off)
-
19
Get a refurbished Pixel 2 for $420 or Pixel 2 XL for $440, today only on Woot
-
8
Latest Poll
Loading ...Recent Reviews
-
27
Lenovo C330 review: The best 'cheap' Chromebook money can buy
-
99
Huawei Mate 20 review: One of the best phones the US is missing out on
-
126
Palm Phone review: A tiny tragedy
-
98
Nokia 7.1 review: Unrealized potential
-
85
Google Pixel 3 / Pixel 3 XL case reviews: Because breaking an $800+ phone would really suck
-
27
Latest Roundups
-
1
26 best new Android games released this week including Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition, Soul Chase, and Truck Simulation 19
-
2
16 new and notable Android apps from the last week including 1.1.1.1: Faster & Safer Internet, Feedly Classic, and WakingNews Alarm Clock (11/10/18 - 11/17/18)
-
1
[Bonus Round] Brain Marmelade, Kolumno, Qbik, Shuyan Saga, Cosmic Top Secret, Lovecraft Quest, and Harmony: Music Notes
-
3
20 best new Android games released this week including Teslagrad, Scanner REDACTED, and Spitkiss
-
5
18 new and notable Android apps from the last two weeks including Rivet Beta, Reachability Cursor, and the Call of Duty Companion App (10/27/18 - 11/10/18)
-
1
Recent Apps and Games
-
11
Google Duo seems to now work on all Chromebooks
-
8
Nvidia Shield Black Friday 50% off sale includes Tomb Raider, Super Meat Boy, and more
-
7
Assassin's Creed Rebellion is available on Android a day early
-
22
Play Store now showing reminders in Updates tab to install previously-used apps
-
14
Google Photos rolling out new live album sharing button for 'People and Pets'
-
11
Blast from the Past
-
93
1 Year Ago Today
Android Wear v2.6 includes a Recent app complication, network status indicators, download progress card, and more [APK Download]
-
99
2 Years Ago Today
Deep dive: A closer look at the Google Pixel's camera
-
293
3 Years Ago Today
Many Nexus 6P Owners Are Reporting Microphone Problems, May Be Related To Noise Cancellation; Google Is Investigating
-
109
4 Years Ago Today
Google Play Services 6.5 Spruces Up Android's System Update Screen Too
-
3
5 Years Ago Today
[Bonus Round] Hunger Games: Panem Run, Polarity, Flick Kick Football Legends, And Tic Tactics
-
20
6 Years Ago Today
[New App] easyMute Quickly Pauses Or Silences Your Music When The Device's Proximity Sensor Is Covered
-
23
7 Years Ago Today
Minecraft: Pocket Edition Will Be Getting Survival Mode, Says Mojang
-
8
8 Years Ago Today
Angry Birds And The Pigs Sign A Peace Treaty [Hilarious Video]
-
10
9 Years Ago Today
Meet Firefox For Mobile [Video + Feature Highlights + More Info]
-
93
