The Waze app on iOS is set to lose a feature that has been should have been essential, yet has endured over a year of issues. The support for Google Assistant is officially being removed from Waze’s iPhone application.
Waze’s Google Assistant feature is likely to be replaced by Gemini shortly
A representative from Waze shared this update on the company’s public forums:
We want to provide an update regarding Google Assistant on Waze iOS.
As many of you have likely noticed, this feature has been underperforming for over a year, and we sincerely apologize for the extended inconvenience.
Instead of merely patching a feature that has been consistently problematic, we’ve made the decision to phase out Google Assistant on iOS starting tomorrow. We will soon be introducing a new and improved voice interaction solution. As always, we are dedicated to keeping you informed and will provide more details as we move forward.
The announcement concludes with the note: “It’s important to emphasize that Google Assistant will continue to operate without issues on Waze for Android, where it has remained reliable.”
The specific challenges that Waze has faced with Google Assistant on iOS remain unclear. However, it appears that the company has been attempting to resolve the problems for “over a year” without success.
While not explicitly stated, it’s worth noting that Google has been shifting its focus away from its Assistant product to embrace the Gemini platform instead.
It seems likely that the “enhanced voice interaction solution” mentioned by Waze refers to a new integration with Gemini. Unfortunately, this solution is not yet ready, leaving users without either Google Assistant or Gemini in the app for the time being.
Do you use Google Assistant in Waze on iOS? How has your experience been? Share your thoughts in the comments.
