One of Waze’s best lesser-known CarPlay features is finally coming to Android Auto

My loyalty to Waze hasn’t ever faded, and at this point, it likely never will. I love the community-powered navigation app, and I’ve relied on it for several years because the crowdsourced aspects of the platform, like police locations, hazards, stopped vehicles, and more, just can’t be beat. That said, despite my Ioniq 5 supporting both CarPlay and Android Auto, I almost always opt for Apple’s infotainment system for a key reason.

It might sound a bit silly, but I’ve always appreciated that with CarPlay, you can use Waze on your iPhone’s screen while it’s still connected to Apple’s in-car infotainment platform. This allows me to add new destinations, alter my route, and adjust settings, all directly in the app on my phone. For example, my partner hates the Halo Master Chief voice I use with Waze, so I often turn it off on my phone).

Don’t worry, in nearly every situation, I’m the designated passenger princess — I’m not actually picking up my phone and fiddling with Waze settings while driving. Thankfully, this lesser-known feature is finally coming to Android Auto.

Using Waze in Android Auto when you’re on the go just got easier

Adding destinations and adjusting settings can now be done directly from your Android device

According to Android Authority, Waze has been testing this functionality for months in a limited capacity, but it’s finally getting a wider release. I quickly tested out the feature after discovering that it was available on my Pixel 10 Pro. When it lands on your device, a pop-up should appear on your phone (check out what it looks like below courtesy of Reddit user eh_itzvictor).

To be clear, this feature isn’t new in the Android Auto space as Google Maps has offered it for several years now, though at one point, Google disabled it. With this update, you can now access Waze directly on your Android device when it’s connected to Android Auto, allowing you to input specific addresses and change settings when you’re on the move.

If the update hasn’t landed on your device yet, force-stop Waze and then reopen it.