Apple Maps is entering more WAZ-national areas with an update that gives drivers the ability to report road risks, accidents or even speed traps. Apple says the new features are live on iOS 14.5 Beta, which is now open to the public beta testers as well as developers, but will not be available to the public until the end of this spring, Apple says. To use the new features, drivers will be able to report road issues and incidents using Siri on their iPhone or through Apple’s CarPlay. For example, while navigating, they will be able to say things in Syria such as “there’s a crash up”, “there’s something on the road”, “there’s a speeding trap”, “they’re gone” Will be able to correct stale accident or hazard warning information.
Making the reporting experience more secure when using Siri, the updated app will also help tapping a report button on the map to alert others about accidents, risks or speed jams. The update could present a challenge to the Google-owned navigation app WAZE, which has long been a popular tool for being aware of road conditions, dangers, accidents and police presence. Waze, users can communicate via Google Assistant by touching the screen or issuing commands, but voice support for iOS users is naturally limited. Today WAZ supports the use of Siri shortcuts, which need to be manually, configure and added to Siri, for example.
The new Apple Maps features can make Apple’s app more appealing to those who feel their user data is secure within Apple’s ecosystem, thanks to Apple as an organization that cares about consumer privacy. Notable, also, is the addition of motion traps, which change direction toward Apple Maps. .Historically, Apple has opposed the inclusion of police warnings in its products. Nevertheless, that lack of support has contributed to Google’s ability to maintain its dominance in the market for navigation and mapping on mobile devices. Apple’s decision here also follows the proliferation of WAZ-like features on Google Maps, further blurring the distinction between Google’s two navigation products. In addition, the ability to report accidents, traffic, speed traps, and more to Google Map users on Google iOS has made it harder for anyone to consider jumping on Apple Maps. Apple, in isolation, seems to have realized this as well.
