Rivian’s Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid announced on Friday that real-time Waze alerts will be available in R1 and R2 in-vehicle navigation, starting with speed cameras and police reports.
“Real-time alerts from Waze are coming to R1 and R2 in-vehicle navigation, starting with speed cameras and police reports in the 2026.31 OTA update,” Bensaid wrote on X. “More data and alerts to follow.”
Waze alerts will feed directly into Rivian’s native navigation interface rather than run as a separate app, with drivers able to see crowd-sourced speed camera and police data overlaid on the same map they already use for route guidance.
Bensaid’s post comes days after the software chief confirmed that the 2026.31 update will deliver RivianOS 2.0 to all R1 vehicles, including first-generation models.
The Irvine-headquartered EV maker has not disclosed a rollout date for the update.
Google Connection
The community-focused GPS app is owned by Alphabet (Google), which acquired the Israeli company in 2013 for over $1 billion.
Waze’s core function is crowd-sourced traffic and hazard reporting — drivers flag speed traps, police activity, road hazards and slowdowns in real time, and nearby users receive those alerts on their own route.
Rivian already integrated Google Maps into its navigation system through the 2025.22 OTA update last July, adding Google’s routing, live traffic, real-time road incidents and satellite imagery to the vehicle’s built-in nav.
Bensaid described the Maps partnership at the time as bringing together rich data and reliability from Google with Rivian’s own design language, calling the collaboration “really just the beginning.”
Adding Waze data extends that relationship into a second Google-owned property when it comes to navigation.
No CarPlay, No Android Auto
Embedding Waze functionality inside a proprietary navigation stack follows Rivian’s long-standing resistance to third-party infotainment systems such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has repeatedly dismissed CarPlay integration, framing Rivian’s in-house software as central to the ownership experience.
“We’ve made the decision, which I’m very confident about, that in the fullness of time, customers will appreciate, which is that we wanted to have a seamless digital experience,” Scaringe stated during an appearance on The Verge‘s Decoder podcast in October 2025.
Scaringe said CarPlay “feels the same in every car,” preventing Rivian from providing a dedicated experience.
Rivian shares the approach with Tesla, which also does not support CarPlay or Android Auto.
Both automakers build proprietary infotainment platforms and selectively partner with third-party software providers — pulling in specific services such as navigation data or streaming while keeping the interface and user experience under their own control.
Rather than opening the infotainment to Apple or Google’s own automotive platforms, Rivian partners with those companies to absorb individual features — Google Maps routing, and now Waze crowd-sourced alerts — into its in-house software.
Drivers receive the functionality without a separate app layer replacing Rivian’s interface.
Biggest R1 Update in Years
Version 2026.31 is stacking up as the most significant R1 software release in years.
Beyond Waze integration, the update will bring RivianOS 2.0 to both Gen 1 and Gen 2 R1 vehicles — the next-generation operating system that debuted on the R2 at launch.
Bensaid confirmed earlier this year that the unified OS would reach R1S and R1T models by year-end.
Porting the system across both generations is a significant engineering commitment.
First-generation R1 vehicles run a domain-based architecture with 17 separate electronic control units.
Second-generation R1 vehicles consolidated to a seven-ECU zonal layout and added dual Nvidia Drive AGX Orin processors, delivering roughly ten times the processing power of Gen 1.
Rivian has not detailed which RivianOS 2.0 features will be available on Gen 1 versus Gen 2 hardware.
R2 Feature Rollout
Rivian deliberately launched the R2 without several familiar software features to protect quality.
Bensaid committed in June to deliver them through monthly over-the-air updates over the summer.
Since then, the R2 has received Launch Mode, Pet Comfort, Gear Guard and garage-door pairing through subsequent OTA releases following its first major software update a month ago.
A screenshot Bensaid shared alongside Friday’s Waze announcement appeared to show the Rivian Assistant icon in the R2’s left side rail.
Rivian Assistant has been available on R1 but absent from R2 since launch. Bensaid did not confirm whether the feature will arrive on R2 in 2026.31.
