After all these years, Waze continues to be one of the best navigation apps available on Android and iOS. Despite Google Maps having attained many of Waze’s best features, the company continues to update Waze and offer new features for users to take advantage of. Unfortunately, if you’re running a device with Android 9 or an even older version of the operating system, your Waze app is about to stop receiving updates.
According to a post on Reddit, Google has started notifying Waze users with older Android devices that they’ll soon stop receiving new updates to the app. Android Authority has also backed up this news, noting that an APK teardown of the app’s latest beta version shows that it will require a minimum of Android 10 compared to previous versions, which supported both Android 8 and Android 9.
It’s not surprising to see Google pushing the app away from older versions, either, especially if it starts to lean on more AI-powered functionality, some of which requires newer hardware as well as the latest software.
You can still use Waze on older Android versions
While Waze won’t receive any additional updates, you’ll still be able to use the app on devices running older versions of Android that used to be supported, so long as you already have it installed. You just won’t get any additional support from Google. Alternatively, you could always switch to Google Maps, as it has integrated some of Waze’s best features — though not all of them.
If you don’t already have a newer device, and you’re running an older version of Android, then it might be time to upgrade. There are plenty of great Android devices out there, including the Samsung Galaxy S25, as well as the upcoming Pixel 10 lineup. You can usually find pretty good deals on slightly older devices, too, like the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
It’s unclear exactly when the new version of Waze will launch, ending updates for older Android devices, as no official announcement have been made at the time of writing. That said, if Waze is your navigation app of choice, it’s worth going ahead and deciding whether you want to keep using an app that no longer receives updates, swap to another navigation app, or finally upgrade your aging device.
