I hate to say it, but it’s time for Google to merge Waze into Maps

I’m faced with an annoying dilemma whenever I get into my car: Which of Google’s two navigation apps do I use? While Google Maps is my standard option, Waze often offers far better insights into real-time traffic conditions. Either way, I can only pick one.

There has been plenty of talk about Waze and Google Maps merging to create one super app in recent years, and I have little doubt that Google has thought about it. But perhaps it’s finally time for the company to consider it seriously. Hear me out, before you get the pitchforks out.

Google Maps is my primary navigation tool on Android Auto. It offers a familiar readout of traffic conditions around me, and it’s this comfortable, clear UI I value above all else. Unlike Waze, all I require from Maps is a quick eye flick to gauge road issues. Thanks to its broad points of interest library, it inspires confidence that the end destination I searched for is the one I intended.

However, despite these strengths, it often feels that Google is trying to make Maps worse (at least on Android Auto). The app is frequently slow to alert me of road incidents, police presence, and speed limits ahead. This week, a power cut in my area rendered a chain of traffic lights inoperable, but do you think Maps informed me? Its feeble attempts to usher me around disruptions often land me in even tighter jams, too.

When Google Maps inevitably falters, I turn to my backup partner, Waze. Unlike Maps, there’s little doubt that Google’s alternative navigation app is explicitly built for driving. It offers detailed descriptive audio alerts of hazards and police presence along the route, so I’m less inclined to take my eyes off the road. It was quick to tell me about those traffic light issues, too!

Waze has other strengths, including its pleasant personality, which allows me to pick Master Chief as my navigator if I want, and its thriving community, whose real-time crowdsourced info fuels many of the app’s best features. Without this beating heart, Waze wouldn’t even be worth considering.

But there’s a reason I don’t start my day with Waze. Its list of problems is far more egregious than its sibling’s. Its infantile, cluttered UI and awkward zoom and panning effects are hugely distracting when driving. Due to its lack of color, it also offers less detailed indications of on-road traffic congestion than Maps. Instead of glancing at the map, I’m leaning forward, straining to see if that icon is a traffic light or a user icon.

Both apps have shortcomings, but between the two, there are the makings of a rather incredible consolidated Google navigation solution. With each app better than the other in different aspects, merging the best of the two makes complete sense, doesn’t it?

Despite the clear positives of a consolidated app, I doubt Waze users would be happy with their favorite dissolving into Maps. Part of what makes Waze great is its responsive user base; Google risks ruining this community. If users were to stop contributing to a consolidated app as they would Waze, the newly minted app would feel threadbare. There goes one of Waze’s most significant benefits.

It’s crucial, then, that the integration is done right. A half-baked, sloppy job will ruin the experience for both Google Maps and Waze users. It’s a massively risky undertaking, perhaps another reason why Google hasn’t decided yet. However, I do think that there is room for coexistence for now.

I’d welcome more Waze features within Maps, including more reliable and timely hazard alerts, a wider selection of voices with clearer audio instructions, and an overall more useful experience for road users. Google has migrated some features in recent years, but there remains a massive gulf between the two apps. We’ll likely never know whether this slowing feature crossover is due to waning impetus from Google itself or a technical limitation.

For those Waze users feverishly biting their fingernails, I don’t think you have much to worry about. Google has owned the platform for over a decade and still keeps it as a separate entity. If there is a merger, it seems likely to happen later rather than sooner.

I want to clarify that Waze’s existence isn’t my issue. Google has all the tools to develop a powerful navigation service for a broader range of road users, yet it’s sitting on its hands. It has two apps with unique strengths, but road users must choose one or the other. The solution, albeit difficult, is simple.