Beta users can check out the app’s dashboard-friendly UI right now
After a months-long delay, Android Auto’s new redesign finally hit the road a few weeks ago. After a short beta period, Google announced its new dashboard look — previously codenamed Coolwalk — for in-car displays was ready for primetime. Unfortunately, it has yet to rollout to everyone weeks after an announcement, but there could be a silver lining in those sluggish server-side updates. If you’re a dedicated Waze user, your favorite navigation app might be ready before the Android Auto redesign even reaches your car.
A Reddit user spotted the update in their vehicle after manually installing the Waze beta APK to their phone. According to the driver, they’ve been using Android Auto’s new dashboard view via Google’s beta program for over a month, but aren’t enrolled in beta updates for this particular app. Waze’s support for this look shouldn’t come as a surprise; the app started to tease its future support for Auto’s new look over a month ago, showing a pop-up message for drivers running Google’s beta.
This update doesn’t seem to just include Coolwalk capabilities, though. Seemingly, Waze now lacks many of the elements that set it apart from Google Maps. While the same lineup of tools are still here, the iconography throughout the app is using a standard black color, dropping any splashes of color altogether. It could be a temporary issue — this is the beta channel, after all — but we could be looking at a new variant of Waze that loses out on its original “fun” UI.
Finally, this specific version seems unable to start from Assistant, with this Reddit user noting they had to select an address from within Waze itself. It’s likely a bug that should be fixed before a final version rolls out, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re considering downloading the APK.
Speaking of which, you can grab this beta build of Waze from APKMirror right now to get started. You’ll need to have Android Auto’s current look active on your device though, and unfortunately, that requires time and patience. With any luck, Google could launch a wide rollout for Coolwalk any minute now. Considering it was supposed to launch prior to last summer, let’s hope the wait doesn’t carry on much longer.
