Getting around a new city or town is no longer taxing as it used to be, thanks to the sheer number of navigation apps on the App Store. In this post, we take a look at some of the top navigation apps for your iPhone or iPad.
The iPhone comes with its default Maps app that gives you turn by turn directions, interactive 3D views, and easy zoom and scaling features on a wonderful vector interface. Plus, it also offers public transit information that is well customized for every city. However, if you are not too keen on Apple Maps, here are some of the best alternatives to keep in mind.
Top Navigation Apps for iPhone
Waze GPS Maps & Social Traffic
Waze is the world’s largest community driven navigation app. Just by driving with the app open, you help in contributing real time traffic information to the community. That apart, you can report accidents, hazards, police traps, road closures and more. You can also get turn by turn voice guided navigation and automatic re-routing as road conditions change.
The live maps in Waze are constantly updated so you never have to worry about losing your way ever again. Its other user friendly features include giving you information about the cheapest gas station, letting you see your friend’s ETA when driving to the same destination and accessing information on local places and businesses.
Download Waze GPS Maps & Social Traffic
Google Maps
Google Maps is still one of the best navigation apps to have on your smartphone. It packs some seriously useful features such as voice guided turn by turn navigation for driving, biking and walking, transit directions and maps for over 15K cities and towns and comprehensive information on over 100 million places. You can also get reliable live traffic and accident reports, street view for museums, restaurants and other places and intelligent rerouting should you miss a lane.
MotionX GPS
If you are preparing for a great trip outdoors, don;t go without MotionX GPS. Whether you are biking, hiking, snowboarding, running, sailing or flying, you’ll find the most accurate GPS at your fingertips. The app has free downloadable maps with unlimited downloading available for offline use.You also have your choice of 14 different sources including including road, terrain, satellite, and marine map types and can save up to 300 tracks and 2500 waypoints. Apple watch support and interactive stopwatch voice support are the other impressive features of the app.
INRIX XD Traffic Maps, Routes & Alerts
If you want to take the hassle out your daily commute, this smart traffic app is another great choice. The apps traffic intelligence capabilities is awesome, thanks to the GPS data gathered from millions of trucks, cameras, road sensors, and in-car navigation systems. You can also contribute to the intelligence data by reporting current traffic conditions, accidents, hazards and police activity.
The app also lets you know the quickest commute routes, the best time to travel and the time you are likely to arrive at a place so you can share the info with your friends and family. You can also save your daily routes to the cloud so you can access it on multiple devices anytime you want.
Download INRIX XD Traffic Maps, Routes & Alerts
Transit App: Real Time Bus + Subway + Metro Tracker with Offline Schedules
If your commutation involves traveling by bus or train, Transit app is one for the pocket. The app lets you check departure times for all nearby transit lines, access real time predictions and see exactly where the vehicle is on the map.
You can view schedules and route itineraries offline, locate bike share stations and check availability of bikes, easily book car2go vehicles or request a Uber so your trips are never thrown out of gear should there be a problem with your main transportation. You can also schedule alarms and get reminders before your bus/train arrives and make use of stop alarm announcements to get notified when you are approaching your stop.
Gaia GPS
One of the best GPS apps for iOS for adventureres and travelers to carry around is Gaia. The app helps you discover remote places and access topo, road, aeriel, and government maps (US and Canada) to plan trips and explore the wilds. The app’s mapping tools let you record tracks, waypoints and take geo tagged photos. The app syncs all your records to all your devices and import and export files via iTunes, Safari, DropBox, and email. The app is priced $19.99 while the GaiaPro subscription will get plenty more great features, maps and support.
I’m using a navigation app Commander Compass that supports different maps, depending on my current needs: google maps, apple maps, open street map and open cycle map. It can read pre-downloaded maps when offline. Besides, it has many useful features for those people that are not very good at orienting. The app shows your current position on the map, can save waypoints and locations, for example, your car or your hotel location. https://itunes.apple.com/app/id333235419