Waze launches motorcycle mode, voice commands and carpool lane support

All of the new features are available starting today.

Waze is one of the most popular navigation apps around, and today it's receiving a pretty beefy update that adds three new features for helping you get to where you need to go as fast and safe as ever.

Motorcycle Mode

For all of you motorcyclists out there, Waze is adding a few new features to make using the app more enjoyable when traveling on two wheels instead of four. Estimated arrival times have been tweaked so that they're more in-line with what you'll actually experience when driving a motorcycle, recommended routes are now sourced from cyclists rather than those driving regular automobiles, and information about more narrow roads that typically can't be accessed when in a car can also be seen.

"Ok Waze" voice commands

Perhaps the biggest feature that's part of this latest update is voice commands. When you're in the Waze app, you can now say "Ok Waze" and then something along the lines of "take me to work", "find the nearest gas station", and "what's my next turn?" to control your drive without having to touch your phone. Furthermore, you'll also be able to use the "Ok Waze" command to report any accidents, backups, or other conditions you notice while driving.

Voice commands in Waze

Support for carpool lanes

Lastly, Waze's new update adds carpool lanes to its routing system. Waze claims that it's the first navigation app to do this, and it'll be launching this service with HOV routes throughout 22 states in the U.S., as well as Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal in Canada. Supported states currently include the likes of Atlanta, Boston, California, New York, Texas, and others, and Waze says that more locations throughout the U.S. and Canada will be added soon.

These new features are now available for Android and iOS with the latest Waze update starting today.

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