14 DAY TRIAL // Waze is currently one of the top traffic navigation apps for mobile devices, as it helps users get around crowded cities by avoiding traffic jams and arriving at their destinations within the shortest possible time.
But when we say mobile devices, we think more of Android/iOS and less of Windows phones, as the latter has been rather left behind lately, with app updates only rarely released.
Waze is a company owned by Google - the same Microsoft rival that doesn’t want to bring its apps on Windows Phones - so it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that they aren’t really keen on improving their app on Redmond’s mobile platform.
And in a recent tweet, the Waze team confirms that the focus isn’t on Windows phones, but on platforms where they have more users. App updates for Windows phones will only arrive if the number of users on the platform increases significantly, they say.
Still working fine on Windows phones. For now
But as WinBeta notes, while this is indeed bad news for users on Windows Phones, it’s not entirely the end of the world because Waze will continue to work on the platform, and the essential features are already there. The bigger problem will be when Waze releases new major features that won’t be available on Windows devices because of this exclusive focus on Android and iOS.
Right now, the Waze client for Windows phones works quite smoothly, although it comes with an old interface that’s no longer being used by the Android and iOS clients. In fact, the Waze app for non-Windows platforms is getting updated every once in a while, not only with bug fixes and other minor improvements but also with new features.
At this point, the Windows version of Waze is at version 3.7.4.5, while iOS users can already download version 4.8.0.0. Version 4.0 brought a major UI makeover and new features, such as planned drives, so it’s very clear that Windows users are missing a lot by not getting these updates.