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The best navigation app gets a huge update as it tries to make Google Maps and Waze obsolete

Posted on by darion

Latest Sygic Updates
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Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Sygic

The navigation industry is dominated by Google Maps and Waze, but alternative software from HERE, TomTom, and Sygic is gaining more popularity.

The battle is getting fiercer, and while Google continues to add new features to Google Maps, including the long-awaited speedometer in CarPlay, rivals are also investing in features that the search giant has ignored for years.

Sygic is one such example, as the company announced a major update that includes three major changes, all aimed at making its navigation software more advanced in the fight against Google Maps and Waze.

Scenic routes

New Sygic Features

Photo: Sygic

If you’ve used Google Maps recently, you’re probably aware that the app offers support for fastest routes and eco-friendly alternatives. However, despite user requests to integrate scenic routes, Google has ignored the idea, preferring to stick to these two options.

Scenic routes would allow users to reach destinations in places with beautiful landscapes. This option would be useful when traveling by car, when navigating to a destination does not have to be done in the shortest possible time.

Sygic has added support for a feature called Twisty Roads, which has a very similar goal. The new option is aimed at “people who seek adventure and breathtaking landscapes,” typically looking for routes that include twists and turns. However, it is not aimed at all vehicles on the road, only motorcycles.

Users can enable this option from the Vehicle Profile screen, where they can configure their bike, set a destination, and enable the Twisty Roads toggle in the Route Planner menu.

Go Away, Waze! Incident Reporting and Acknowledgments

New Sygic Features

Photo: Sygic

Incident reporting has long been a major selling point for Waze. The app lets users flag hazards on the road, using that data to generate warnings for other users whose routes include the pinned locations.

Other companies have tried to copy the idea, including Apple with Apple Maps, and even Google now offers incident reporting across all supported platforms.

Sygic integrated incident reporting a long time ago, but now that its user base has expanded significantly, the company can rely more on crowd-sourced data. This latest update includes an option that lets users “confirm incidents,” helping to verify traffic reports.

This means there is a much lower chance that a report will be inaccurate or that a flagged threat will no longer be in its flagged location, as users can add information in real time and help others stay informed.

However, the feature is only available on iPhones for now and there is no estimated release date for Android devices.

Low emission zones

New Sygic Features

Photo: Sygic

Sygic wants everyone to use its app. With the introduction of low emission zones in several cities, the company wants to help drivers avoid them while contributing to reducing their carbon footprint.

When enabled, low emission zones allow the navigation app to avoid restricted areas. Users must configure a vehicle profile by defining fuel type, model year, and emissions information.

Improvements to Google Maps and Waze

New Waze features

Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution

Google Maps and Waze have also recently received significant improvements.

First up, Google Maps now includes incident reporting across all platforms, including Android Auto and CarPlay. While this feature makes Waze redundant, many have wondered if Google is planning to discontinue the app now, Google Maps now lets users report hazards like accidents, traffic jams, lane closures, objects in the road, and stopped vehicles in Android Auto. The feature was previously only available on mobile devices and began rolling out to CarPlay earlier this month.

Google Maps has also started displaying warnings about narrow roads and flyovers to users in India, and people are hopeful that the same features will be made available everywhere over time.

Waze’s latest major update includes speed bump warnings and sharp curve notifications. Waze also warns when multiple lanes merge.

Speed ​​bump integration has long been a top requested feature from the Waze community, as it gives users more time to approach the speed limit so they can slow down safely. However, given the large number of speedometers in cities, this feature can easily become intrusive, as I recently explained , when you get warning after warning during a short drive.

Apple also seems more determined to improve the Apple Maps experience and potentially expand the app beyond its ecosystem. The web version is now available in beta, allowing users to explore the world, view navigation routes, and get information from local guides from a browser on Mac and Windows computers. We still don’t have confirmation that Apple plans to release a version of Apple Maps for Android, but it seems like the next stop for the company, which has no choice but to focus on software and services after the demise of the Apple Car.

What’s your favorite navigation app? Is Sygic worth a shot, especially after these updates that seem to address features that tech giants like Google and Apple have ignored for years? Let me know in the box after the jump.