Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
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ZDNET's key takeaways
Waze is great for fast reroutes and real-time driver alerts.
Google Maps has deep Gemini integeration for smarter navigation.
Both apps keep improving, but which one is truly the best?
A quick Google search will surface article after article claiming that Waze is far better than Google Maps. But is that actually true? I'm a longtime Google Maps (and Google Earth) user. I swear by the app, and I regularly side-eye anyone who says otherwise (especially, god forbid, Apple Maps users.
Also: You can chat with Google Maps now, thanks to this big AI upgrade - how it works
I'm also a tech editor, though, which means I do my best to set aside personal bias in the name of journalism. Every now and then, I force myself to try alternative navigation apps -- and that includes Waze, which, in case you didn't know, Google acquired in 2013.
So, if you're looking for a true feature-by-feature breakdown of how Waze compares to Google Maps, you've come to the right place. I've tried both, and I'm here to tell you which one really gets you where you need to go faster, smarter, and better.
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