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Comment by pkaye | Hacker News Reader

Google maps (on my Android) actually has offline maps for a while now but you have to manually select the region. And you can cache multiple regions at once. I've used it in the past when driving to national parks and remote areas with no phone network in some spots.

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I do appreciate this feature. I wish more apps provided & tested online access.

I have also tested Gaia & All Trails maps online features, and have had mixed results with those.

I just don't think app developers take the time to test their apps in offline or poor connectivity conditions. They are used to testing procedures while using office wifi

As a frequent traveller I can say Google Maps (offline mode) sucks!

If you are fully offline, then it works as intended.

However, if you have even a tiny bit of connection, even if your connection is spotty or very slow, Google Maps refuses to use its offline data, crippling the experience and making it unusable.

I agree with the sibling comment. When I travel, I usually use 3 apps and download the offline maps of the regions I visit: Apple Maps (for iOS apps and embedded features), Google Maps, and thank god: Organic Maps.

I can recommend organic maps: https://organicmaps.app

The quality of the maps depends on the region, though. But for me it is typically good enough. I not only like the local maps, but also that I can save waypoints locally. And I can contribute things like points of interest to Open Street Map directly via the app. In my opinion, the biggest disadvantage is that there is no traffic information.

Might be better to switch to the CoMaps fork:

https://www.comaps.app/news/2025-07-03/Announcing-Navigate-w...

Interestingly, f-droid doesn't initially show CoMaps but does show Organic Maps because apparently CoMaps doesn't pass an antifeature filter for depending on a tethered service on codeberg. I don't quite understand why this is an issue; they both need to download their maps from somewhere, don't they?

Thanks for recommending. I was not aware that a fork of Organic Maps had been created, or that longtime contributors to OM had concerns about the project.

Another vote for Organic Maps. I use it as a lightweight maps app for backcountry or traveling in foreign countries where I don’t have a sim card. You can also record tracks in the app, or import .gpx files. In airplane mode it has low impact on battery consumption.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find out iOS Star Chart app (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/star-chart/id345542655) functions entirely offline. Recently used it while camping, and it just needed a GPS coordinates fix to adjust sky map to location.

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