Apple Maps is receiving accident reports from Google and Waze

Apple is bringing accident, hazard and speed check reports to Apple Maps. The feature is currently only available to users with iOS 14.5 beta and is similar to the user reporting features found on Waze and Google Maps.

When using the feature, you (or preferably a passenger) can press a new Report button on the bottom tray and select the type of incident or danger you are reporting. You can even do this using Siri: I was also able to say “there’s a police car here” or “there’s something on the road”. MacRumors shows that the interface is also available in the CarPlay version of Maps.

Print Screen: The Verge

This user-centric reporting feature is now something that every major map application has or is under development. Although this feature has become popular with Waze, it has been available on Google Maps since April 2019, so Apple is trying to catch up here (as it is trying to do by adding user-generated photos and comments to Maps). It is important to note, however, that Apple’s version has far fewer options as of today – Google’s, shown below, is much more in-depth.

Print Screen: The Verge

There is a strange thing to point out with the Apple version, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the feature is in beta. You may have noticed in the Google Maps screenshot that the Apple and Google icons for accidents and mobile radars look like much similar. Here are Apple’s again for comparison:

Print Screen: The Verge