Driving carefree is crucial to reach your destination safe and sound, but sometimes the road has obstacles waiting for you that you never counted on… or that was before you had Waze on your mobile device.

Get comfortable in your seat and buckle up because today we're going to travel the roads of knowledge and learn about one of the most popular specialized navigation apps.

With the power of the community, always one step ahead

Waze is an app originally developed by the Israeli company Waze Mobile, which was eventually acquired by Google in 2013. It stands out for its focus on the community, real-time updates and its objectivity and efficiency when it comes to providing you with alternative routes.

It is mainly optimized for cars, although it also has a mode for motorcycles and another for carpooling.

Unlike its main competitor Google Maps, which provides a broader service and with different types of mobility, Waze stands out for its improved navigation for car drivers and the active participation of its users reporting inconveniences, accidents, police posts or radars. These reports are updated in real time, quickly improving the drivers' travel and the availability of alternative routes.

Featured Functionalities

1. Alternative routes:

• Waze analyzes real-time traffic and proposes alternative routes to save time and avoid congestion.

2. Road alerts:

• Receive notifications about road events such as crashes, closures, construction, police checkpoints, speed cameras and more.

3. Fuel prices:

• Users can view and report fuel prices in the area and help find the cheapest place near your location.

A well-known companion

With Waze, you can customize your avatar and guiding voice, creating hilarious moments like listening to the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger embodying the T-800 from the movie Terminator, warning about cameras detecting speeding and that: "running would be a grave mistake", or the voice of Morgan Freeman playing Vice President Allan Trumbull from the movie London Has Fallen which for many would be like listening to the voice of God all the time.

Iconic phrases:

• Arnold Schwarzenegger como T-800: ”Turn right if you want to live”.
• C3PO de Star Wars: “Recalculating. R2-D2 where are you?”.
• Batman: “I’m Batman, the Batcave is straight ahead”.

These voices not only provide navigation instructions, but also add a touch of entertainment to the experience, making driving more enjoyable and less boring. Well, there's nothing better than having someone to chat with during a long trip, isn't there? Waze makes it easy.

It might happen that you don't like any of the voices that Waze offers; in that case, you can record your own voice.

This function can be found in the configuration by selecting “settings” and then “sound and voice”. There, you will need to follow the instructions and save your new voice as the default.

The gamification of Waze

Waze implements a very fun way to keep its users collaborating with real-time updates. This method motivates them to report inconveniences that may arise on the road.

This system consists of awarding points to users to help them level up and earn badges and achievements as a reward for their contributions; just like in a game. As a result, users are actively involved in maintaining accurate and quality updates.

Is it really the best option?

Waze is a perfect choice if you are looking for a social, dynamic app to help you avoid delays and find the fastest route to your destination. Users look for it because they value updates from the active community of drivers who use it. The more people driving using Waze, the better the navigation.

Choosing Waze over other alternatives will depend on how you drive. If your primary goal is speed, efficiency, safety and avoiding traffic, your best choice will be Waze.