Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Choosing between Google Maps and Waze is easier than you think. Need an app that focuses on traffic navigation and getting you from where you are to where you want to go as quickly as possible? Go with Waze. Want an app with a cleaner UI that focuses on getting you to your destination even when your data connection drops? Stick with Google Maps.
Waze focuses specifically on road navigation, while Google Maps is an all-in-one app that tries to provide users with a complete package of features.
I chose Google Maps specifically because I don't like Waze's cartoony interface. The app looks like it was designed by kids and sometimes gets so crowded with useless information that figuring out where you are is much harder than it should be.
Google Maps offers a cleaner user interface and the thing I like the most is that it helps me get to a specific place after I park my car. If I need to walk to a place or building, Google Maps can guide me when the guide ends, so it offers a complete navigation experience to my destination.
However, I can't admit that sometimes sticking with Google Maps is so difficult that it's tempting to switch to Waze and give up all those extras.
First of all, the new navigation colors are still sometimes unclear.
Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Google introduced a new color theme in late 2023, trading in the familiar look for what was supposed to be a more natural representation of the world. The new colors were not well received by users around the world, with many calling on the search giant to revert the change.
That didn't happen, and the new colors are here to stay. However, they don't always make sense, and following a suggested route is more difficult because the new colors get in the way and make it harder to see what Google Maps is highlighting.
As you can see in this screenshot, I use Google Maps and CarPlay, and since I shouldn't be looking at the screen for too long, I have to understand everything the app says at a glance. In the example above, I needed to get on the highway and take the first exit, but the new colors, traffic information, and highlighted route made Google Maps hard to read.
Even though I already knew the route, I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to follow Google Maps and come across all these similar colors when driving through a region for the first time.
Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
I like the way Google Maps highlights real-time traffic on the map, because it's more subtle than Waze and makes for a cleaner user interface, but I would have preferred the app to use a more prominent indicator for the end of a traffic jam.
Waze uses a rounded icon on the map, so you have more time to slow down when approaching the last car in a traffic jam, while Google Maps keeps the same colored lines on the map. It's harder to see when driving on the highway, so many drivers may find themselves slamming on the brakes when they notice the traffic jam.
This is a big problem where I live because the highway ends at a busy roundabout and the super-involved authorities here don't care about the traffic jam that sometimes stretches up to two or three miles. Cars approach the end of the queue at high speed and as Google Maps highlights heavy traffic on the map, you should be able to see it more easily.
Photo: Reddit user deadheaddraven
Someone on Reddit recently highlighted another little detail that could prove huge in the fight against Waze.
Google Maps on Android Auto sometimes looks awful, with on-screen tiles covering up much of the map and pushing navigation to the outer edges of the interface.
A navigation app should be all about the map and the directions the user needs to follow, but the giant information tiles that Google Maps displays on the screen to highlight navigation data and the next turn make no sense. The user's location and highlighted route are pushed to a corner of the screen, and Google Maps is all about the navigation tiles, which have no customization options and are ridiculously large.
This doesn't happen on all devices, but I've seen it reported more frequently on Android Auto, and it doesn't make much sense. Navigation on Android Auto is supposed to be more convenient, and that's what phone mirroring is all about in the first place. Android Auto allows users to connect their smartphones to their cars, so they can have a larger screen to see data, including navigation, more easily.
What’s the one little thing that annoys you about Google Maps that you wish Google would be more interested in improving? Let me know in the comments box after the jump.