The Waze application on iOS is set to lose a feature that should have been fundamental to its functionality, yet has struggled for over a year with various issues. Officially, support for Google Assistant will be removed from the Waze app for iPhone.
The Google Assistant feature in Waze is likely being replaced by Gemini soon
A representative from Waze shared an update on the company’s public forums:
We want to provide you with an update regarding Google Assistant on Waze for iOS.
As many of you may have noticed, this feature has been dysfunctional for over a year, and we truly apologize for the inconvenience it has caused.
Instead of simply fixing a feature that has faced ongoing issues, we’ve chosen to discontinue Google Assistant on iOS starting tomorrow and introduce a more advanced voice interaction system soon. We remain dedicated to keeping you informed and will provide more details as they become available.
The announcement wraps up with this note: “It’s important to remember that Google Assistant will continue to work smoothly on Waze for Android, where it has reliably performed.”
It’s unclear what specific challenges Waze has encountered with Google Assistant on iPhone. However, the company has been attempting to address these issues for over a year without finding a solid solution.
Although not explicitly stated, it is worth noting that Google has been shifting its focus from its Assistant product to fully invest in Gemini instead.
It seems that the “enhanced voice interaction solution” mentioned by Waze is likely a new integration with Gemini. Unfortunately, this integration isn’t ready yet, leaving users without either Google Assistant or Gemini in the meantime.
Do you use Google Assistant in Waze on your iPhone? How has your experience been? Share your thoughts in the comments.
