Apple Maps in iOS 14.5 will let users report hazards to fellow motorists. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple Maps will start collecting crowd-sourced accident reports when iOS 14.5 is released. The beta version already lets users test sharing the locations of accidents, speed traps and other hazards.
This is hardly cutting edge, of course. Google Waze has included the feature for years.
YouTube Music and Waze are now friends. Photo: Google
The latest move by the Waze navigation app to make driving a little more fun involves built-in controls for YouTube Music. This allows drivers to make changes to the music streaming through their iPhone or Android without leaving the Waze app.
The long wait for Waze on Apple's CarPlay in-dash system is over. Photo: Waze
For too many years, the only navigation application for CarPlay users was Apple Maps. But iOS 12 changed that. Last week, CarPlay users got access to Google Maps. And now the rival Waze is an option.
This means that all three of the most popular turn-by-turn smartphone navigation titles can be used with Apple’s in-dash system.
After going from terrible to mediocre, Apple Maps is set to become good. Photo: Apple
Apple has begun gathering its own data about the U.S. road network, rather than buying this information from other companies. The goal is to significantly improve Apple Maps.
This app was a disaster when it launched 6 years ago, and although there have been significant improvements, it has been the butt of jokes ever since. Apple wants to change that.
Waze provides clear turn-by-turn navigation and alerts you to potential hazards. Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac
All across the country (and the world), people depend on cars to get from place to place. Unfortunately, not knowing where traffic is slow, or where a police officer is hiding, can cause serious delays. The Waze navigation app takes out the guesswork.
It tells drivers where traffic, construction or the 5-0 might turn a drive into a total bummer. Better yet, the navigation app’s huge user base means real-time data that lets you change course to avoid slowdowns.
This previously free book-cataloging app now makes its developer decent cash, thanks to some shrewd pricing moves. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
San Francisco-based developer Giacomo Balli doubled his take on his iPhone apps thanks to an April Fools’ Day joke. When he ratcheted up the price to an eye-popping $4.99 for an app that catalogs books, he got downloads instead of complaints.
The App Store lets devs change the sale price of their apps pretty much any time they like, but most folks take conventional routes: cutting prices during sales or dropping prices to free. Balli made his previously free apps premium with just a toggle.
“There weren’t any app updates, either,” he told Cult of Mac over the phone. “Just the price.”
FastTrack Navigator is just about the simplest navigation app you could ever want: It’s a big arrow on the screen telling you the direction of your destination, along with a number telling you how far away it is. But that’s not to say that it isn’t beautifully designed.