Google’s navigation application Waze has some cool new features ahead of the holiday season. These new features are the biggest in its history. In a blog post on Wednesday, the Waze team announced a new Motorcycle mode, hands-free voice commands, and support for carpool routes.
The most popular of all is likely to be the new hotword detection feature. It’s like the Google Assistant’s “OK Google” phrase: When it’s enabled, you can say, “OK Waze”, followed by a voice command. To enable it follow these steps:
(Settings -> Sound & voice -> Talk to Waze -> and toggle Listen for “OK Waze” on)
There is an improvement on Waze’s existing Voice Commands suite. Which already lets you to preview a route, send road reports, and add pit stops by shouting at your phone’s microphone. But before the update, you had to start Waze’s “listening mode” by tapping a shortcut or gesturing with your fingers. Now, it’s an entirely hands-free process.
Cyclists will now appreciate two new motorcycles avatars to choose from, plus a new Motorcycle mode that’s optimized for two-wheelers. you get specialized routing that are optimized by Waze’s crowdsourced data. Specifically, you’ll be directed to routes where motorcyclists are riding, and you’ll get a more accurate estimated arrival time.
To specify your vehicle type: (Settings -> Vehicle Type -> Motorcycles),
Another feature is support for carpool lanes, or high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes. In 22 markets across the United States and Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, Waze will determine the optimal route for users driving together with friends or co-workers, and will serve up additional navigational options and arrival times. Waze says it’s a first for navigation apps.
How to enable it by heading to Settings > Navigation > Add Toll/HOV pass selecting from the list of pre-populated passes.
To specify your vehicle type in Settings > Navigation > Vehicle Type).
The new and improved Waze will be out for Android and iOS users in some time.