If you use an Android device and don’t use Google Maps, then it’s very likely you use Waze instead. Waze has been one of the most popular map apps since it launched, largely thanks to its strong focus on driving, monitoring traffic, and keeping users abreast of changes in the road ahead. It’s so good that Google eventually bought it, and the fanbase is clearly loyal enough that Google has never considered just rolling the app into Google Maps and calling it a day for updates. As such, Waze still gets updates every now and again — though that’s about to come to an end for a number of users.
As spotted by a Waze fan on Reddit, Waze will no longer be supporting certain versions of Android going forward (via Android Authority). While this doesn’t mean your Waze app will stop working immediately, it does mean it’ll stop getting updates to the newest version, and it could mean it eventually gets cut off entirely. But more pressingly, it also means it could kill support for a lot of car infotainment systems.
Waze will no longer support older Android devices
That doesn’t just mean your phone and tablet
According to messages being delivered to Waze devices running older versions of Android, support for any device running Android 9 or earlier will end in the coming updates. That means those devices will simply no longer receive any new updates or new features. In short, they’re left to their own devices. In the short term this won’t matter too much, as the app will still function just fine, but it does mean an uncertain future for a lot of people.
This may not immediately seem like a big deal. After all, how many phones still run a version of Android beneath Android 10? According to the Android Studio, 12.4% of all Android users are still running Android 9 Pie or earlier — and that’s a big portion of your potential userbase to cut off.
It’s also not as simple as just buying a cheap new phone to run Waze. A number of car infotainment systems are based on Android, and it’s very likely some of them will never have seen an update in their entire lifespan. So anyone who uses Waze on one of those displays is going to find themselves on a depreciating product from now on — and that seems extremely unfair. A car’s expected lifespan is far beyond that of a simple smartphone, and the fact one of your car’s navigational tools can effectively be taken away is yet another warning against connected “smart” software.
I appreciate that cutting out older software and devices helps to shore up security holes and makes updates smoother — but it feels especially bad when it ends up killing a software feature you might have enjoyed. Hopefully most of the devices hit by this will have alternatives to lean on, like Android Auto support. And hey, if your main phone is running Android 9 Pie, maybe consider upgrading to a new smartphone. You’ll probably be happy you did.
