Taking advantage of the start of this wonderful holiday month, Google has released a slew of new features in its two benchmark applications: Google Maps and Waze. The two potentially equate to changes related to: traffic incidentsspeed cameras and radars, lock screen navigation and much more.

There can only be one, there must be a winner when choosing a GPS navigator in the car. Some prefer Waze for its active user community, while others prefer Google Maps for its route interface and place library. Not clear? Well Google plans to unify the experienceall of these to make them not only more uniform applications, but also much more complete applications.

Speed ​​camera incidents and alerts for everyone

Reporting accidents on Google Maps

Choosing one or the other is usually a matter of taste and whimsy, because at the end of the day Google maintains communication channels between both applications. Google Maps has been powered by user-reported events for years; Waze has improved voice guidance and online services. Everyone wins.

Now, as Google has announced, both Maps and Waze are taking a step forward in order to increase road safety and provide information more accurately and efficiently. To do this, they are bringing the following changes, some of which were already expected a few weeks ago:

• Incident reporting on Google Maps. Makes it easy to report incidents like road construction, lane closures, objects on the road, and police on the road. Notifications are shared from the Google Maps and Waze community.
• New destination guide on Google Maps. The app will show nearby buildings and parking lots as we approach our destination. Coming soon to Android, iPhone, Android Auto, and vehicles with integrated Google and Apple CarPlay.

New traffic camera notification on Waze

• New traffic camera alerts on Waze. The app will instantly alert you to the proximity of a traffic camera that detects speeding, lane usage, and other violations. Waze will display a new bottom floating window showing the distance to the camera in question.
• Waze will let you share traffic info in real time. Do you think we encountered any closed streets, traffic jams or other traffic-impacting events along our route? We can share this information with our friends so they can be aware of it on their next trip.
• Waze lock screen browsing. You no longer need to unlock your phone to get Waze directions: the app works with the lock screen. This allows you to get directions, traffic updates and alerts, for example. It’s currently available on Android and will come to iPhone later.

Google has strengthened its GPS navigation applications, always maintaining control and safety behind the wheel. And with greater consistency: Maps and Waze are getting more out of each other’s data. It has a notable advantage: whichever one we use, we will receive in real time all the events occurring on our route, including speed cameras.

Cover image | Ivan Linares

More information | Google

Xataka on Android | There are many applications that warn of the presence of radars, but not all of them tell you if it is a section radar. This is the best

Xataka on Android | Google Maps vs Waze, detailed comparison: which app has the best navigation options?