A small change to a familiar screen
Waze has a new Forgotten Island driving experience tied to the DreamWorks film. The September 17 announcement introduces turn-by-turn directions from Jo, voiced by H.E.R., alongside a themed mood and vehicle icon.
The most visible change is the map itself: the usual navigation marker can become Jo’s Jeepney. A nostalgic mood uses the character’s paint-splattered boombox. This is customization for an existing navigation app, not a new routing engine.
Where to find it
Waze says the experience is available globally in English. Update the app and look for the Forgotten Island banner in its menu. Choose the elements you want before starting a drive, when you have time to check the settings.
For regular navigation, a simple test matters more than the theme: can you understand the voice clearly enough to follow directions without staring at the screen? If the extra character lines are distracting, a familiar voice may be the better everyday choice.
Why it is worth a look
Customization is often dismissed as decoration, but a small interface change can make a routine app feel personal again. Here the voice, mood, and map marker are three separate pieces of the same theme.
The film is scheduled for September 25; the Waze experience was announced earlier. The image is the official Waze and DreamWorks promotional artwork. It illustrates the offered theme rather than showing a route we drove or an independently tested navigation result.
Source published 2026-09-17. Coverage is based on the maker’s announcement and demonstration.