I have tried to use Waze recently especially with CarPlay now, it’s nice and the social aspect works nice. But I don’t trust an app that I don’t understand their business model.
I tried to dig to understand how their business model works but with no luck, then I ended up knowing it’s actually acquired by Google.
So I am back to my old friend Apple Maps.
1 Like
The reason why is because based on other users you know about traffic and accidents. Super helpful in a city like mine (Chicago).
1 Like
There was a study that concluded that over a longer period it saves the most time to stick to your usual route and not try to evade traffic jams. It might save time in some situations, but overall the alternative routes have their own jams and are longer etc and so it doesn’t pay off.
1 Like
However, that being said, I’ve seen parts of Oregon and the Bay Area that I would not have otherwise seen because of these apps. I like saving time, but I also like the experience of seeing something different.
3 Likes
For me, it started with the quality of the maps. Apple Maps were really, really bad in my location (Stockholm, Sweden) and both Google and Waze had it down cold. It was a no-brainer at the time. I’m sure the quality of Apple Maps have improved a lot since then, but now I’m already so used to (and happy with) Waze that I see no reason to switch.
1 Like
Waze is owned by google. The only answer I need. I don’t trust google with my data. Apple Maps has never steered me wrong. I’ve traveled extensively through Southern California, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
3 Likes
For me the Waze UI is designed to be a Sat Nav. Having the speed limit for roads is great (and is better than apples), having a time in traffic bar on the left, the simplified distraction free map, and the ability to notify other drivers of Speed Cameras and road incidents.
Waze is better than google and apple maps - for driving.
2 Likes
WIth iOS12, I’ve noticed more parity in my region between Waze and Apple Maps.
My belief is now that Apple Maps is using iPhones for anonomous traffic data points, its effectiveness will meet or exceed that of Waze. Especially in a non-Chicago area like mine — where there are more iPhones than Waze users.
I think it will come down to which interface you like to look at…
1 Like
Yes that’s a valid use case. But won’t Apple Maps and Google Maps show busy routes and recommend alternatives?
I wish to believe so 
. I always arrive 10 minutes after the initial estimate. My route involves High Ways though, so almost everyday, something might block it and the arrival time just starts to increase. I wish Apple Maps has some predictive learning.
I use Maps to guide me…not for alternative routes but at least to make sure I won’t miss my exit…especially when I am not familiar with the route.
Exactly, once I knew, I just deleted my account.
Lane assist is something very important that Waze actually misses. I wished to find it. But when you are driving a highway with 6 lanes where each one has different destination, a left arrow is not super helpful 
1 Like
Agreed. Google have a nasty habit of closing down apps/services seemingly out of the blue, so I wouldn’t get too dependent on Waze or anything run by Google.
1 Like
There’s no objective reason to trust Apple over Google is there?
Anyway, I use Waze because it is generally (not 100% of the time) accurate for my own driving patterns and routes. Apple is frequently wrong. I live in one of the largest North American cities and Apple Maps doesn’t yet know about streets in my neighborhood that have been in place for 100 years. Go figure.
Like any other service, try them all side by side and choose the one you like.
I believe there is; for Apple I am their customer, they make money out of selling devices, and services.
For Google (which is manly an advertising company), I am the product not the customer. They sell my data to advertisers.
This is my reasoning…at least for the time being, till one of them change their business model.
Yes for sure, I agree. But it’s always helpful to understand others reasoning. It’s similar to reading a review. But most importantly it’s by actual users who might have been using the service for quite some time.
2 Likes
Well, that ship left probably left port a long time ago with Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and others on board
Not denying that. It’s always down to “does this product work for me” though, at the end of the day.
I tried Waze for a week or so again (I’ve had an account for many years), but just deleted it again.
I don’t get the benefit of other drivers being around here, and it takes over my iPhone 6; either it’s badly coded or it’s doing a lot more than it should under the hood…
When I use Waze, everything else gets booted out of memory, including music etc. Overcast will typically crash in the background because of this.
When I upgrade my phone I guess this won’t be so noticeable, but I’ve lost faith in it so I’m going to stay clear and use Google Maps, which is way better than Apple Maps here.
Did not know that Apple sell users data…Is that something reported?
Oh, and it irks me that Waze continues to use my GPS after I exit the app without my permission (until the phone freezes it in around 5 minutes).
When I got a car with CarPlay a little over a month ago, I decided to just use Apple Maps… I only lasted about a week. I live in a city (Boston) and need to get through/around it to get to my job in another city (Cambridge) and Waze just knows about closed roads/construction/traffic better than Apple Maps for the routes I take daily.
Also, Apple Maps often suggested or chose incorrect locations for me which was annoying (i.e. asking Siri to send me to a theater, it sent me to the administrative offices and not the actual theater is just one example - or suggested towns that are 2000 miles away).
I don’t think Waze is perfect, however - I’ll keep checking out Apple Maps, but for me Waze wins so far. If I’m driving out in NH (as I was this weekend), I’ll use Apple Maps or Google Maps because I don’t need the traffic avoiding stuff Waze does.
Yes unlike Apple and Google Maps, it keeps running even after arriving the location. You have to manually exiting the app.
There is no objective data that supports lumping Apple’s handling of user information with the other companies cited. In fact, there is a lot of evidence that Apple is protective, rather than exploitative of user data. A simple glance at the respective TOSs associated with the services of these companies demonstrate the difference.
Apple (and Microsoft for that matter) have very different business models than Google and Facebook. It is perfectly reasonable to trust Apple with your data and not Google.
2 Likes