New Google Maps feature means one less reason to keep using Waze

We’ve always found it a bit odd that all these years, Google has opted to keep Waze around despite Google Maps more or less doing what Waze can do. Sure, there are some differences but it looks like the gap is starting to close. This is according to a report which suggests that Google Maps could be borrowing the incident reports feature from Waze.

According to a post on Reddit, one user discovered that while using Google Maps, they received a prompt in the app. The prompt said “Police reported ahead” along with large buttons asking the user to respond with either a “Yes” or “No”. This is similar to how Waze can display incidents along the roads like construction, accidents, and police presence.

What’s interesting about this screenshot is that it looks like Google is actually pulling data from Waze reports to use in Google Maps. This is according to the caption that says “From Waze drivers”. This means that instead of Google taking the feature and making it a Google Maps feature, they’re actually sharing data between their navigation/mapping apps.

In this instance, we reckon it’s a pretty cool feature and kind of makes sense that Google is allowing Waze to exist alongside Google Maps. It would have been easier for Google to fold Waze features into Maps, but maybe the company just wants to give its users options. Either way, we’re not sure if this feature is live for all users, but at the very least it does suggest that Google is testing it out.