Photo: Coyote
Almost everybody I know uses a navigation app, and Google Maps and Waze are often the top picks. Apple Maps is typically the third choice, but the number of alternatives keeps growing, and the underdogs are becoming significantly more compelling.
Coyote is a fantastic app whose adoption has only been limited by its focus on certain European markets. Its features can always rival Waze, primarily because the app sports a crowdsourcing-powered traffic reporting system, but Coyote has become a top navigation choice that convinces more users to jump ship and give it a try.
A recent update should fuel this transition from Google Maps and Waze to Coyote.
The application offers less intrusive alerts, as the parent company worked with industry experts specifically to create new warnings. The purpose was to alert drivers without becoming annoying and intrusive, as Coyote knows that users might otherwise be tempted to disable these warnings.
I mainly use my navigation apps without audio alerts, and the reason is the same as the one that Coyote wants to avoid hitting its app: they are intrusive and irritating when they keep repeating. Coyote says it worked with French company Sound to Sight to find a mix that creates more melodic, pleasant, and efficient alerts when the app runs.
The visual side of the app has also received a refresh thanks to new colors and improved contrast. Coyote shows traffic and closed roads clearly, so drivers should read the provided information more easily and without looking at the screen for too long.
Improving screen readability has become a focus for all navigation apps, and Google Maps and Waze released similar updates not long ago. In Google Maps' case, the rollout was highly controversial, as users complained that distinguishing roads from other UI elements was suddenly more difficult.
Coyote turns to artificial intelligence to make its alerting system more efficient. Starting with this update, the application runs on an updating algorithm that merges similar alerts for the same event and generates a single notification to let drivers know what happens on the road. The updated system tries to determine the report's location with improved precision, so the driver will no longer see multiple speed trap reports but a single notification that should be placed specifically where it was spotted on the road.
Coyote says this is just the beginning of a massive update, with a complete overhaul of the mobile app coming next year. The parent company did not share more specifics, but Coyote has become more committed to improving its apps with modern capabilities, so get ready for more new-generation features.
Meanwhile, the only thing that's missing is Coyote launching in more markets, as the world needs more such advanced alternatives to Google Maps and Waze.
A recent update should fuel this transition from Google Maps and Waze to Coyote.
The application offers less intrusive alerts, as the parent company worked with industry experts specifically to create new warnings. The purpose was to alert drivers without becoming annoying and intrusive, as Coyote knows that users might otherwise be tempted to disable these warnings.
I mainly use my navigation apps without audio alerts, and the reason is the same as the one that Coyote wants to avoid hitting its app: they are intrusive and irritating when they keep repeating. Coyote says it worked with French company Sound to Sight to find a mix that creates more melodic, pleasant, and efficient alerts when the app runs.
The visual side of the app has also received a refresh thanks to new colors and improved contrast. Coyote shows traffic and closed roads clearly, so drivers should read the provided information more easily and without looking at the screen for too long.
Improving screen readability has become a focus for all navigation apps, and Google Maps and Waze released similar updates not long ago. In Google Maps' case, the rollout was highly controversial, as users complained that distinguishing roads from other UI elements was suddenly more difficult.
Coyote turns to artificial intelligence to make its alerting system more efficient. Starting with this update, the application runs on an updating algorithm that merges similar alerts for the same event and generates a single notification to let drivers know what happens on the road. The updated system tries to determine the report's location with improved precision, so the driver will no longer see multiple speed trap reports but a single notification that should be placed specifically where it was spotted on the road.
Coyote says this is just the beginning of a massive update, with a complete overhaul of the mobile app coming next year. The parent company did not share more specifics, but Coyote has become more committed to improving its apps with modern capabilities, so get ready for more new-generation features.
Meanwhile, the only thing that's missing is Coyote launching in more markets, as the world needs more such advanced alternatives to Google Maps and Waze.
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