The route itself is visible as lines drawn on the map. It is the "directions" (things like, "Turn left at Main Street") that only pop up (and can be spoken) as you approach them. Oh, and I was wrong about being able to tap on waypoints to see their descriptions; the code is only there for POIs, not for waypoints - an oversight on my part, which I will fix in a future version.

And the routes are from Google Maps and thus (I think) are based on a "fastest route" algorithm, not a "shortest route" algorithm. Of course, Google Maps doesn't always give you the "fastest" route, but it tries...