> What’s the benefit of Waze being a separate app at this point besides the brand name? Why not just fold it into the main Maps app?

There are differences in my region which make me think that the apps have different mapping and routing engines.

Turn by turn dirrections and road condition information are much more accurate in Waze. There's a larger Waze local community that helps keep maps up to date.

We do use Google Maps, but mostly as a Yellow Pages substitute or for checking business opening time.