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 More[Update: Deezer integration goes live] Waze adds 7 partners to its in-app music player, including Pandora, Stitcher, and TuneIn
NYPD demands Google stop revealing DUI checkpoints on Maps and Waze
Water is wet, the sky is blue, and police don't like people reporting speed traps and other law enforcement checkpoints. The New York Police Department sent a cease and desist letter to Google today, demanding that the company stop displaying DUI/DWI checkpoints in its Waze and Maps applications.
Read MoreWeekend poll: Which do you use more, Google Maps or Waze?
In the last week, Google Maps has been rolling out some welcome navigational improvements. We've got support for speed limits and speed traps, now, both of which sound pretty familiar. As this Waze-ification of Maps continues, we realize we've never actually asked our readers: Which of the two apps do you use more?
Read MoreSpeed trap icons and vocal warnings are rolling out on Google Maps for some users
For the longest time, users have been bemoaning the lack of Waze-like reports on Google Maps, even though the two apps are technically part of the same company. Things started moving in the right direction when we spotted crash and speed trap reports in Google Maps in November, then again in December, though the feature hasn't rolled out to everyone yet and is still a little flighty in the way it works. Until now however, that meant only reporting something, and not seeing what others reported. But development is on track as one tipster let us know that he can now see speed traps on the map.
Read MoreGoogle Maps' Waze-like incident reporting shows up for many, doesn't work yet
Google Maps' incident reporting feature has been a long-time coming. After the company bought Waze in 2013, everyone thought Google Maps would get its popular crowdsourced reporting feature in no-time, but years have passed it's only a few months ago that we started seeing hints of it in our teardowns of Maps. The first real signs started showing up in the app after that, with users spotting confirmation prompts for reported incidents and, recently, a button to report crashes and speed traps. Now, the latter is showing up for many under a new look, but it doesn't work at all.
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 MoreThe Best Of AP
Google 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.
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