Waze Now Comes Pre-Installed in Select Vehicles With a Big, Bold Display

For the first time, the navigation app Waze is shipping pre-installed in certain automobiles, complete with a dedicated screen for easy controls and improved visuals. 

It's all part of Google's ongoing 'Built-In' platform that embeds many of the company's key offerings, such as Google Assistant, in vehicles. Cars that ship with Waze pre-installed get real-time routing, full navigation, and alerts. Also, your settings, preferences, and favored places carry over from the standard smartphone app. 

Everything is built into the car's display, and, for now, Google is prioritizing vehicles with big and bold displays so as to enhance the navigational experience. Though, most in-car displays are easier to see than a phone.

This service is rolling out today, but only with select Renault automobiles, such as the Renault Austral Hybrid and Renault Megane E-Tech electric vehicles in Europe. 

"Renault is the first car manufacturer to offer Waze directly on the vehicle's multimedia screen, without activating the smartphone," says Jerome Seror, Director of Digital Customers at Renault.

In other words, this is Europe-only for now, but Google has promised to bring this "driving experience to more users across the globe in 2023," though it stopped short of providing actual details. 

To that end, it is worth noting that the company's 'Built-In' platform is available to a vast array of American cars manufactured by Chevrolet, GMC, and others. Here is to hoping it doesn't take too long to add Waze to the list of available apps.