We wrote about Waze years ago and the headline held up. With 650 million downloads and 4.5 million new installs per month as of 2026, Waze is not a novelty or a niche app — it is the navigation choice for drivers who care about what is actually happening on
Waze changed the way people think about GPS. A free app with real-time traffic, constant updates, and a massive user base made it easy to leave a dedicated GPS behind. A lot of drivers did exactly that. But that does not mean dedicated GPS units like Garmin are obsolete. In
Waze is still one of the most widely used navigation apps, but how people use it has changed. Some drivers rely on CarPlay or Android Auto, while others still mount their phone and interact directly with the app. If you use Waze directly on your phone, your mount matters more