Waze has announced it will discontinue the integration of Google Assistant for its iPhone users, attributing the decision to “ongoing difficulties” with the feature. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Waze indicated plans to implement a new “enhanced voice integration solution” in the future, likely related to its upcoming Gemini technology.
Waze expressed regret over the persistent issues users have encountered, stating, “As many of you have likely experienced, this feature [Google Assistant] has not been working as intended for over a year, and we sincerely apologize for the prolonged inconvenience. Rather than simply patching a feature that has faced ongoing difficulties, we’ve decided to phase out Google Assistant on iOS starting tomorrow.”
Throughout the past year, a significant number of Waze users on iPhones have reported challenges with voice commands directed at Google Assistant. For example, one user noted on a support thread that although “Hey Google” would activate the assistant, it failed to recognize their voice inputs.
For Android users, Google Assistant will still be operational within Waze; however, its future remains uncertain. Earlier this month, Google announced it would phase out Assistant for many mobile platforms, stating that it will no longer be available for new downloads or accessible on most mobile devices starting “later this year.”
In a move indicating its ongoing evolution, Waze has already commenced testing conversational reporting using the Gemini technology, which allows users to report incidents through natural speech.
