Organicmaps: Android and iOS offline maps app for travelers, tourists, hikers

Leaving a couple of google results for interested folks like me:

  * https://blog.mapbox.com/mapbox-%EF%B8%8F-valhalla-1fdda95ac4f
  * https://blog.mapbox.com/valhalla-is-live-on-mapbox-d868e8d41611

By downloading the OSM data and running Valhalla locally I could process the data in minutes completely for free

The algorithm from maps.me / Organicmaps is ported from OSRM to Android and iOS. The CTO of maps.me that did this port left maps.me in 2017 but now seems to work on Organicmaps again: https://github.com/biodranik

The first thing I noticed was that it's a lot faster - I get the routing results almost immediately, even on a low spec phone (with the drawback that you need additional space for the routing segments).

The generated routes are a lot better, too. They make more "sense" from a bikers perspective, because BRouter is elevation-aware. It also gives tracks that are on official cycle routes a higher priority (can be disabled). I tested it with trips I usually cycle and it calculated routes that were very similar if not identical to the ones I chose myself. That's what I expect from a good routing algorithm.

Test it yourself: https://brouter.de/brouter-web/

I guess in 2021 the new law is "Every app expands until it can trade crypto."

[1] http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/Z/Zawinskis-Law.html

But then there's OpenStreetMap. Are you familiar with that? It's open data, which is sort of related to opting out of big tech. It's "free" like Wikipedia, nobody can forbid access to the data itself.

Practical benefits: Among OSM applications, Maps.me and organicmaps are more snappy. OsmAnd is a leading OSM application, and it just has a ton of options which is perhaps good for a power user but it's not streamlined.

And then the practical benefit of OSM itself is that while you often don't get as much info as Google Maps, sometimes you get stuff that Google misses. I think a big one is foot trails and stuff. Local enthusiasts like to walk them and fill them in on the map. I added a water reservoir in Berkeley once that was somehow not on Google Maps.

  1. Freedom. When using Organic Maps, you have the right to use the app in any way you choose; this includes the right to modify and redistribute the app should the developers ever start violating your principles. In fact this is exactly what Organic Maps is. Before Organic Maps, there was Maps.me; this app was also open source but became increasingly user hostile over time. Organic Maps is what happens when the users have this freedom.

  2. Privacy. Even when used offline, Google Maps tracks and reports your location to Google. Organic Maps does not track and report your location to anybody.

  3. Giving Back. While it is possible to suggest edits to Google Maps, these edits become part of Google's proprietary map database and can only be used in accordance with Google's ToS. This means that ultimately, Google's profits are what you are contributing to. Organic Maps, on the other hand, uses OpenStreetMap [0] and allows the user to contribute to it. Data contributed to OpenStreetMap can be freely used by anybody, for any purpose, thus benefiting all humankind rather than just one massive, US based, corporate entity that may not have humankind's interests at heart.

2. You can't download offline maps for South Korea in Google Maps. There may be other areas in the world like this.

3. OSM data is better for hiking trails in my experience.

Also Google being an internet connection assumed on in general company makes me worry a bit about being in a situation where I need to use my offline maps and finding they were wiped in an update or something.

For me on Android:

In-car navigation - Waze + AmiGo;

Town centre navigation - Here/OsmAnd;

Searching - Google Maps;

Off-road, tracking, poi info, terrain, overview etc - OsmAnd (OpenStreetMap).

OsmAnd search UX sucks or I'd use it for that as well; the data is there.

Here and OsmAnd are both offline after initial setup, which you will do when you install them, no need to remember to manually prepare local tiles as with Google maps offline.

I read a story about some people who used Google Maps for routing in the far Eastern part of Russia, got routed through a disused road and froze to death. My in-laws were also using Google Maps when they were routed to a different place than the hotel we were supposed to stay in in Serbia, but the locals were kind enough to guide them.

It says in the description that it's 'Windy Maps by Seznam.cz' (which appears to be some kind of news site?), but the developer is listed as 'Windyty SE', and the developer website is listed as https://www.windy.com/, which appears to be a weather map. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

The ability to pick two peaks in the lakes in the more rugged area, and to see enough detail of the land (rather than paths) such that I can see whether it is possible to navigate between them.

I.e. how granular does the waterways go? Are crags and cragginess fully shown? Are ancient stone walls shown? Do the contours show sufficient detail to indicate a stream that in a different season may be following but isn't considered a waterway all year round?

Open Street maps allow me to read the paths, roads, main waterways.

Ordnance survey allow me to read the land.

Could you please elaborate a bit on that sorcery? I've never heard of this possibility, so don't even know where I would read up on it or what keywords to search for. (Though in retrospect of course it makes sense that someone would figure out how to make maps for open-source software.)