Here is how I perform cards and waze simultaneously with Android Auto

Despite its litany of defects, I love Android Auto. This makes driving more pleasant by offering easy access to my music collection and putting significant navigation information at the front and center. However, he has some silly limitations that hinder the latter.

Google Maps is my main navigation platform. This is what my Android Auto instance is starting, and I don’t necessarily have a problem with that. It is relatively reliable for daily trips and has an accessible and familiar visual design. However, I also loved the concentration of Waze on driving tools, audio alerts and the wider selection of voice actors. It is also probably the best option for longer trips.

Both applications have advantages and disadvantages, but there is a big problem: Android Auto allows only a mapping application to be used at any time – you cannot even perform one in the background. These are cards or waze. At least that’s what you want you to think.

I found a way to run Google Maps and Waze simultaneously in the car, and here is how you can also take advantage of this bypass.

Google has two navigation applications, each with its strengths and weaknesses; It turns out that they complement each other. This presents a problem for drivers. You see, I like individual features and elements of each application. If I corded them in cherry and made them roll in a single product, I would have an incredible driving application at hand.

Google Maps offers unrivaled points of interest, which I fully enjoy when I start in the new cities. It is also easier to view the traffic flow thanks to its green / yellow / red intensity scale. I can easily change my look on my screen and come back to assess the animated areas, keeping my eyes on the road for longer spells.

Waze, alternately, offers a much richer experience for people actively invested in road conditions. It is supported by its active and dedicated community, which contributes to real -time information in the service. Users are encouraged to report incidents on a road, including nests-of-poule, traffic congestion, animals, stopped cars, wing benders and even police presence. There are a multitude of alert types, and everyone is useful.

Waze also includes other essential features, such as speed limit warnings and current speed reading. The first is something that I used so often, especially if I have missed a limit panel or along the regional roads undergoing maintenance.

To describe each application in a sentence, Waze is an application designed for driving, while Google Maps is a mapping application with a driving mode. Both have advantages. You can use them individually like Google intention, but they are so much better together.

This problem arises when I am in the car and choose the application to use. As mentioned, Android Auto only allows me to run a navigation application, so I have to choose between the two or go from one to the other. This last option is a distraction, and this is where this bypass solution comes into play.

In the image above, I use Google Maps on my car screen and Waze on my phone. I transferred the audio instructions of Google Maps and lights Waze. I can then follow the visual marks of Maps on my dashboard while hearing the alerts and advice from Waze. It’s great.

I should note that with this bypass solution, you can still run only one mapping application on your Android Auto display. This is not about to change due to the visual size, two mapping applications simultaneously execute and the lack of screen resolution. However, the second application will run on your phone next to him without problem.

It also works in both directions. You can run Google Maps on your phone and travel on your car’s screen, or change it as I prefer. You can also choose your favorite audio guidance application.

So, here is how to run Google Maps and Waze in a car with Android Auto:

1. Open Waze on your phone and select a destination.
2. Start navigation.
3. Then start your car and connect your phone to Android Auto. I have Android Auto wireless via a cheap dongle. Android Auto Wired users will have to connect the phone via a cable.
4. Then, on the Android Auto screen, open Google Maps.
5. Select the same destination you did for Waze and start navigating.
6. Waze will continue to run on your phone while the cards run on the car screen. I prefer Waze’s audio advice, so Mute Google Maps and make sure that Waze sounds are on.

To run Google Maps on your phone and travel on the car screen, turn these instructions over and start the cards on your phone before connecting to Android Auto.

Although I use Google Maps and Waze as an example of applications, I tried to execute OSMAND on Android Auto with Waze, which also works. The application is perfect for seeing the surface and the condition of a road in the middle of the country.

I spent months testing this configuration, trying to break it or prove it useless, but I can’t find a lack of play. It may be the best navigation thing on which I fell. That being said, there are warnings to mention.

Waze and Google Maps differ slightly when it comes to reading your position. For example, I noticed that Waze can be a few meters behind the cards. We are talking about 30 feet or less, but even so, the rotating navigation provided by Waze assured that I was taking the right turn, not the one before, because the cards would sometimes deceive me.

Google Maps and Waze often disagree on the best route, which can present a challenge during navigation in the city center. If you are in an unknown urban area, I suggest you direct one or the other, not both. However, the two applications are perfect together when they are on the road open or when few alternative paths exist.

Then there are the practical implications for the execution of a navigation application duo, both in the running for the CPU time, your GPS and the mobile data. This bypass solution uses a lot of battery life. Accibanty claims that the Android Auto output rate was 14.9% / h during a brief test session when using the bypass solution. This has drained a sip of the battery life in the less than half an hour required, but consider this discharge rate for longer trips. My Galaxy S24 FE also works warmer using this method, so be aware of the temperature of your device when cruising in summer.

Google will probably never merge Waze’s features into cards, and that’s probably for the best. Even if I often think that its first navigation application could use more dedicated driving intelligence, it is an application designed for all travelers – cyclists, walkers, shuttlers, not just drivers. I’m just happy to have found a bypass solution that works best for me on the road, and now you can enjoy it too.