After 500 miles of testing, Google Maps beat Waze for everyday driving

After driving more than 500 miles with both apps running at once, an Android Police reviewer concluded that Google Maps is the better all-around navigation app. Waze still has fans for its fast traffic alerts. But on long highway drives and in everyday use, Maps came out ahead.

How the test worked

The reviewer ran Maps on a Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and Waze on a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 on every drive. Both phones had active internet connections. He sometimes switched between the apps on the car's dashboard display through Android Auto. His longest trip was over 200 miles, and shorter drives made up the rest. Routes mixed rural and urban areas.

Where Maps pulled ahead

On long highway trips, Maps gave more dependable lane guidance and turn prompts, both on screen and by voice. It also marked slow stretches ahead in red. Often that meant roadwork with only one lane open. Waze usually did not highlight those same stretches. In the city, Waze also failed to mark choked intersections that Maps showed in red.

Voice guidance differed too. Maps gave directions in stages when turning, merging or leaving a road. Waze tended to give one instruction at the last second, which made it easy to miss an exit.

Routing and arrival times

The reviewer used to prefer Waze for downtown driving at rush hour. Its quick rerouting helps avoid sudden roadblocks, but it was not always pleasant. Once it sent him into a narrow alleyway where he had to stop for oncoming cars. Later trips brought repeated reroutes through choke points.

Maps kept routes steadier unless something unexpected happened. On most drives, its arrival time and distance estimates were also more accurate. A few minutes can matter when you are chasing a meeting or a flight.

The Gemini factor

Maps has Google's Gemini assistant built in. The reviewer used it hands-free to recalculate routes, add and manage stops, check hazard alerts and report incidents, without tapping the screen. Waze is purely a navigation app. The review says its Gemini support is limited.

What Waze still does well

• Aggressive rerouting around traffic
• Incident alerts that many commuters prefer
• A simple, focused navigation design

This was a personal road test, not a lab benchmark, as the reviewer says himself. Results may differ by city, phone and route. The review also credits Maps with strong offline map support and richer route previews.