Google Maps or Waze?

JustAnotherSaver

I thought they were basically the same in terms of routing? I'm sure I read that here.

Well I've since found they can't possibly be.

Went some place yesterday that meant if I was coming my usual route back then there was nose to tail traffic on the A-road as I'd just passed it all.

As I came to leave, I set up Google Maps as per & it wanted to take me through the traffic.

As i'm an impatient guy and would rather go a long way and be moving than a short distance and be barely moving, I set up Waze just out of curiosity.

It was telling me to go a totally different route - in the opposite direction of my destination but then through country roads and eventually ending up where I wanted to be (I actually knew the route tbh).

Since I can't make 2 journeys at the same time, there's no way of knowing which really was the fastest

But which of the 2 is generally seen as the better

or which of the 2 do you use

and to either one that you answer .... and why?

elsien

Waze isn’t quite so good as it used to be since they stopped letting you choose between quickest and shortest route, and it does occasionally send you on a small “what was the point of that” detour but I still prefer it to Google maps. I don’t have the voice directions, and I prefer their display for following the map. 

It’s not bad on the live traffic updates. You can turn off any alerts that you don’t want. 

And it does still give you a choice of routes as well. 

Small downside are the pop up adverts which are easy enough to ignore. 

JustAnotherSaver

That's actually one of the major reasons Waze isn't my 'go to'.

I found the pop ups actually bordering on dangerous with when they were coming up and how much screen they were taking up.

They did it in an area I wasn't familiar with right when there was a ton of lanes to choose from. That was it for me with Waze - Google Maps was my main one from then on.

I prefer the way Google Maps just looks in terms of a map to follow. I prefer Waze's reporting features.

Google Maps also has some routing that I question. If i go to the gym for example then on my way back it wants to take me through 7 sets of traffic lights & claims that this is the quickest way home. Some of these lights are ridiculous - one set 50-100yds from the previous set. And don't you know that of the 7 you'll hit at least 5 on red. This would be the 'main road' way home.

If i just detour and take the route through the houses then I pass through (depending whether I take a left or right at one of the turnings) - either 1 or 2 sets of traffic lights, instead of 7.

There's more turns, more junctions, more humps in the road but even with all that I say it's quicker.

basill

Waze definitely like to take to the back roads at the first sign of trouble!  I used a Tom tom unit for some years and find the navigation screen and favourites lists of Waze closer to that experience than Google maps and for that reason I prefer Waze out of the two.  I find it much too keen to divert though and have been using Amigo from Tom recently.  Its also free and its currently in the lead for me.

EssexExile

I always use Google but it does do some strange things at times. Not as strange as Volvo's built-in system though.

chrisw

If I'm on a significant journey, I tend to have both Google Maps and Waze running on my phone at the same time so it's pretty easy to switch between them. They often give different routes, particularly when traffic is heavy.

I look at the routes suggested and make my own decision which one to use based on my experience.

skycatcher

I've been using herewego...i prefer the display to Google maps.

Jenni_D

EssexExile said:

Not as strange as Volvo's built-in system though.

Care to elucidate please? My new Volvo - V60 PHEV - is delayed again but should hopefully be here by the end of next month. As it is a company car then there wasn't the option to add Android Auto so I'd be stuck with Volvo's own satnav... hence my interest in your comment.

skycatcher said:

I've been using herewego...i prefer the display to Google maps.

Is that one that can work offline? (The name rings a bell ... might have previously just been called Here).

born_again

Jenni_D said:

EssexExile said:

Not as strange as Volvo's built-in system though.

Care to elucidate please? My new Volvo - V60 PHEV - is delayed again but should hopefully be here by the end of next month. As it is a company car then there wasn't the option to add Android Auto so I'd be stuck with Volvo's own satnav... hence my interest in your comment.

skycatcher said:

I've been using herewego...i prefer the display to Google maps.

Is that one that can work offline? (The name rings a bell ... might have previously just been called Here).

Here could well be supplying the mapping to Volvo.

https://www.here.com/company/press-releases/en/2019-26-02-0#:~:text=HERE Technologies today announced that,Group, the premium car maker.


As a Kia owner thankfully they dropped here in favor of Tom Tom as the mapping supplier. Here, had far to many issues with it's updating of the maps. And being to far out of date.
Also your car mapping has nothing to do with the "HereWeGo" App. Its totally different. 

Jenni_D

born_again said:

Jenni_D said:

EssexExile said:

Not as strange as Volvo's built-in system though.

Care to elucidate please? My new Volvo - V60 PHEV - is delayed again but should hopefully be here by the end of next month. As it is a company car then there wasn't the option to add Android Auto so I'd be stuck with Volvo's own satnav... hence my interest in your comment.

skycatcher said:

I've been using herewego...i prefer the display to Google maps.

Is that one that can work offline? (The name rings a bell ... might have previously just been called Here).

Here could well be supplying the mapping to Volvo.

https://www.here.com/company/press-releases/en/2019-26-02-0#:~:text=HERE Technologies today announced that,Group, the premium car maker.


As a Kia owner thankfully they dropped here in favor of Tom Tom as the mapping supplier. Here, had far to many issues with it's updating of the maps. And being to far out of date.
Also your car mapping has nothing to do with the "HereWeGo" App. Its totally different. 

Thanks for the link. Ref. the BiB ... I wasn't alluding to that at all - apologies if my previous post appeared to conflate the two points.

skycatcher

My renault has TomTom and i hate it.... Much prefer Here.... And yes it can work offline