Oct. 20--Popular GPS app Waze has a fresh coat of paint -- at least on iPhones.
The Google-owned mapping company released version 4.0 of its iOS app Monday, but a comparable version for Android smartphones won't be out for a few weeks.
"Waze finished the iOS update first and wanted to see how it would perform," a company spokeswoman said.
Though Waze uses some of Google's infrastructure and supplies data to Google Maps, Waze continues to operate independently. Monday's news was an encouraging sign for Waze users that the app will continue to be developed.
The update is fairly significant. Without getting into specifics, Waze said battery consumption should be "significantly" reduced. The app sports a new look that shortens the amount of screen taps needed to access key features such as reporting incidents and sharing an estimated time of arrival.
Waze is a social, collaborative take on navigation. Users are encouraged to report accidents, police hanging out in speed traps and road closures as they pass by such obstacles. Nearby drivers are alerted to the issues.
By connecting to social media networks and people's calendars, Waze also simplifies the process of pulling up addresses and letting others check in on your trip progress. All combined, many of the app's 50 million monthly users contend the real-time, user-supplied data help them reach destinations faster.
But many of the options had been buried in lists and menus. Now, there's fewer, more visible and visually appealing buttons. It could encourage more information-sharing, which remains critical. Smaller companies continually try to one-up Waze with new features. Among the latest, Mapkin allows people to submit navigation-related tips orally that play for others driving through.
As far as Waze's turn-by-turn directions, a spokeswoman said 4.0 includes many technical changes, including some stemming from increased understanding about how "traffic behaves on a micro level." Some users, especially in Los Angeles, have expressed frustration about having to make tough left turns or travel narrow streets. Residents in previously rarely charted neighborhoods have complained about Waze directing commuters their way.
Waze has been tweaking its software to reduce the number of suggestions to make an "L.A. left" or "Waze left" -- crossing the wide, multilane roads that are particularly found in Los Angeles. The company also has said it wants to address the concerns about side-street travel.
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