{"slug": "osmand", "name": "OsmAnd", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "Offline maps and navigation app for Android and iOS built on OpenStreetMap data.", "recommenders": 15, "commenters": 26, "warners": 0, "score": 16.992, "rising": 4.38, "first": "2026-01-23", "latest": "2026-09-04", "why": "HN commenters like it for its deep, customizable power-user feature set, topographic maps for hiking, and offline navigation.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 16, "neutral": 9, "compare": 1, "warn": 1}, "spark": [0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 6, 7, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": ["Power-user features", "Hiking and topo"], "caveat": "Confusing UI", "short_quote": "I have been a happy user of OsmAnd+ for over 15 years at this point, I can strongly recommend it if you need power user features.", "icon": true, "domain": "osmand.net", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://osmand.net/", "pricing": "freemium", "aliases": ["OsmAnd", "OsmAnd+", "OsmAnd~"], "verdict": [{"text": "HN commenters like it for its deep, customizable power-user feature set,", "cites": [{"id": 781050672, "item_id": 48815667, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48815667", "by": "mid-kid", "date": "2026-07-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OSMAnd has a genuinely insane featureset for a free software app that keeps surprising me every time I use it.", "excerpt": "I'm honestly confused why OSMAnd~ (from F-Droid) is never mentioned. I've tried both Organic Maps and CoMaps and I can't find a single reason to use them, OSMAnd has a genuinely insane featureset for a free software app that keeps surprising me every time I use it. From telling you exactly which maps you need to calculate a route, to rich bookmarking options and grouping, all the different builtin map modes like boat", "context": "", "use_case": "offline maps, routing, hiking", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps \u2013 FOSS Offline Maps"}, {"id": 791288576, "item_id": 49455536, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455536", "by": "nkjvhb", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OsmAnd is a great powerusers app.  I use it daily.", "excerpt": "OsmAnd is a great powerusers app. I use it daily. However, I would not recommend OsmAnd to a normie. My family members, especially the older ones, all use CoMaps because it is much more friendly to them.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily mapping", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 791287809, "item_id": 49455488, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455488", "by": "gedankenstuecke", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "then OsmAnd's customizability is great!", "excerpt": "100% agree - I think even some of the CoMaps contributors use OsmAnd for the rare specialist use cases. I know I do: CoMaps is my main map app that I use basically every day and works perfectly for all of my common/normal use cases. but once in a while I have a map/nav need beyond that and then OsmAnd's customizability is great!", "context": "", "use_case": "specialist map/nav needs", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 780769744, "item_id": 48798109, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48798109", "by": "VorpalWay", "date": "2026-07-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have been a happy user of OsmAnd+ for over 15 years at this point, I can strongly recommend it if you need power user features.", "excerpt": "I have been a happy user of OsmAnd+ for over 15 years at this point, I can strongly recommend it if you need power user features. (Yes the OsmAnd+ is the paid version, but it is the old pay-once version and I have definitely got my money's worth at this point, and it supports an open source project.)", "context": "", "use_case": "offline navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}]}, {"text": " topographic maps for hiking,", "cites": [{"id": 780804048, "item_id": 48800253, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48800253", "by": "epihelix", "date": "2026-07-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OsmAnd~ is great for hiking", "excerpt": "OsmAnd~ is great for hiking, when you need topographic contour info, 3D relief shading, etc. CoMaps is a much simpler and faster interface, that I use for driving navigation. (I use a 7 year old S10e, though, so it's possible that on a modern phone you'd not notice the difference?) YMMV, but they're both free, so it's easy to try and see for yourself :)", "context": "", "use_case": "hiking with topo contours", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 780870256, "item_id": 48804391, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48804391", "by": "ffaser5gxlsll", "date": "2026-07-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "bite the bullet and get osmand", "excerpt": "I'm also a regular OSM contributor and I cycle between various apps/layers. I'm in the alpine region, regular hiker, and osm is the only map source I use (frankly, I find gmaps to be garbage for anything except looking up businesses). I regularly try comaps, but while it's pretty smooth at rendering, the detail is visibly lacking at anything except maximum zoom level. When enabling contour lines, it's cluttered and h", "context": "OSM contributor, alpine hiker", "use_case": "hiking maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 789428593, "item_id": 49339287, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49339287", "by": "tengwar2", "date": "2026-08-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "OSMand App for topographic maps", "excerpt": "Yes, of course. In my case Waze to get there efficiently, OSMand App for topographic maps, and occasionally Apple Maps (works well with addresses in Calendar) and Sygic. I use them in the car, and on my bike: ruggedised CarPlay / Android Auto screens are rapidly displacing ruggedised satnavs on bikes. Playing audiobooks and podcasts is handy, as is getting text messages read out with dictation for reply, but it's nav", "context": "drives and bikes", "use_case": "topographic maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI"}]}, {"text": " and offline navigation.", "cites": [{"id": 793088369, "item_id": 49568023, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49568023", "by": "pilina", "date": "2026-09-04", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "sometimes Osmand+ for offline navigation", "excerpt": "Battery of my Cubot King Kong Mini is slowly dying. I use it with OpenTracks to record my commutes and use as bikecomputer and sometimes Osmand+ for offline navigation. I am searching for alternative, which needs to be waterproof and cheap (my commutes luckily includes downhill trails sometimes - I dont want to break expensive device). The title gave me high hopes, but I suppose I need to keep searching.", "context": "", "use_case": "offline navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Open-Source eInk Bike Computer"}, {"id": 793099937, "item_id": 49568746, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49568746", "by": "rustcleaner", "date": "2026-09-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OSMAnd~ shows me where ALPRs are, so I can plan my routes around Flock.", "excerpt": "I've replaced batteries on Pixel 3 XL and Pixel 6 Pro, both having run GrapheneOS. I use OSMAnd~ with no network permission (except during maps/POI updates). OSMAnd~ shows me where ALPRs are, so I can plan my routes around Flock. :^)", "context": "", "use_case": "offline maps and ALPR avoidance", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+"}, {"id": 788621009, "item_id": 49288813, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49288813", "by": "rustcleaner", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "manually create a route in OSMAnd~ (no Network permission) to avoid the cameras", "excerpt": "I am lucky to be in a city which has not rolled any of this out, but it's surrounded by cities which have gone whole-hog on rollout. I use DeFlock app to see camera locations (but do not route or give it GPS because it has Network permission), then manually create a route in OSMAnd~ (no Network permission) to avoid the cameras. OSMAnd really really needs to roll out an addon for ALPRs just like it has for speed camer", "context": "", "use_case": "offline route planning avoiding cameras", "switched_from": "", "story": "Flock Safety changes system defaults in response to criticisms"}]}, {"text": " The most common complaint is a cluttered, confusing interface that puts off casual users,", "cites": [{"id": 780907712, "item_id": 48806732, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48806732", "by": "TFNA", "date": "2026-07-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "of course some of us love OSMAnd", "excerpt": "We\u2019re on a nerd forum, so of course some of us love OSMAnd. But the general public finds that app too confusing. I know this firsthand because I\u2019m in a travel subculture where OSMAnd provides a very useful tool that Maps.me/Organic Maps/CoMaps does not, but whenever I recommend OSMAnd people react very badly to the app and get angry at me for directing them to something so unpleasant.", "context": "travel subculture", "use_case": "offline maps for travel", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 791288576, "item_id": 49455536, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455536", "by": "nkjvhb", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OsmAnd is a great powerusers app.  I use it daily.", "excerpt": "OsmAnd is a great powerusers app. I use it daily. However, I would not recommend OsmAnd to a normie. My family members, especially the older ones, all use CoMaps because it is much more friendly to them.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily mapping", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 780839490, "item_id": 48802468, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48802468", "by": "ponkipo", "date": "2026-07-06", "stance": "compare", "quote": "OSMAnd is nice, but too cluttered, OM is much easier to use.", "excerpt": "As a active OSM contibutor with 7k+ changesets, Organic is my favorite map app I use for years traveling around the world, also donated to them. Only use GMaps for finding businesses. Tried CoMaps, saw no reason to migrate to it at all - why migrate to basically no-name app (in terms of popularity) which is developed by who knows who (not even a Maps Me or OM devs) if Organic is totally good, has updates, stable, wor", "context": "active OSM contributor with 7k+ changesets", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 791293104, "item_id": 49455819, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455819", "by": "c0nsumer", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use OsmAnd very very frequently (it displays on my dash via Android Auto whenever I drive)", "excerpt": "100% this. I use OsmAnd very very frequently (it displays on my dash via Android Auto whenever I drive), but try and do something like load a GPX and show the line in a given color... Or add a pin at a specific point... It's not straightforward at all. Powerful, but very not straightforward.", "context": "power user", "use_case": "offline maps and navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 791394609, "item_id": 49462163, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49462163", "by": "Vinnl", "date": "2026-08-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used OsmAnd for a long time, and it's a great app that I learned how to use well.", "excerpt": "To illustrate this, look at OsmAnd's most recent blog post [1]. They've recently been looking at adding pretty extensive Astronomy features. Before that, they added a lot of nautical tooling [2]. This is all very cool if you use that, but if you don't, the laundry list of such features make it harder to find the features you do use. I used OsmAnd for a long time, and it's a great app that I learned how to use well. A", "context": "", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}]}, {"text": " followed by slow map panning and route calculation.", "cites": [{"id": 754766352, "item_id": 47172897, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47172897", "by": "elric", "date": "2026-02-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I love osmand. But every new update seems slower.", "excerpt": "I love osmand. But every new update seems slower. Navigation speed is mostly ok, I use it for walking and cycling which means routes tend to be short. But panning and zooming the map is just annoyingly slow. It sort of works when I disable most map features, but the map features are the reason I use osmand...", "context": "", "use_case": "walking and cycling navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "OsmAnd's Faster Offline Navigation"}, {"id": 754758448, "item_id": 47172403, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47172403", "by": "szewachvice", "date": "2026-02-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I love Osmand, but bugs like these are par for the course with the app.", "excerpt": "I don't know how everyone is getting these faster speeds. I set my navigation to HH x C++ and it still takes several minutes to calculate routes of just a couple km. I love Osmand, but bugs like these are par for the course with the app. Going back to online Graphhopper routing.", "context": "", "use_case": "offline navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "OsmAnd's Faster Offline Navigation"}, {"id": 791287681, "item_id": 49455480, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455480", "by": "jech", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "OsmAnd has more features, CoMaps and Organic Maps are much faster.", "excerpt": "> It has more features but is slower and clunkier Just to clarify: OsmAnd has more features, CoMaps and Organic Maps are much faster. (Aside: I'm using CoMaps myself. The main missing features are tracking (I use OpenTracks for that) and public transportation (I use a website for that). End of aside.)", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Power-user features", "summary": "Commenters describe a very large, highly customizable feature set aimed at power users.", "quotes": [{"id": 781050672, "item_id": 48815667, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48815667", "by": "mid-kid", "date": "2026-07-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OSMAnd has a genuinely insane featureset for a free software app that keeps surprising me every time I use it.", "excerpt": "I'm honestly confused why OSMAnd~ (from F-Droid) is never mentioned. I've tried both Organic Maps and CoMaps and I can't find a single reason to use them, OSMAnd has a genuinely insane featureset for a free software app that keeps surprising me every time I use it. From telling you exactly which maps you need to calculate a route, to rich bookmarking options and grouping, all the different builtin map modes like boat", "context": "", "use_case": "offline maps, routing, hiking", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps \u2013 FOSS Offline Maps"}, {"id": 780769744, "item_id": 48798109, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48798109", "by": "VorpalWay", "date": "2026-07-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have been a happy user of OsmAnd+ for over 15 years at this point, I can strongly recommend it if you need power user features.", "excerpt": "I have been a happy user of OsmAnd+ for over 15 years at this point, I can strongly recommend it if you need power user features. (Yes the OsmAnd+ is the paid version, but it is the old pay-once version and I have definitely got my money's worth at this point, and it supports an open source project.)", "context": "", "use_case": "offline navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 791287809, "item_id": 49455488, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455488", "by": "gedankenstuecke", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "then OsmAnd's customizability is great!", "excerpt": "100% agree - I think even some of the CoMaps contributors use OsmAnd for the rare specialist use cases. I know I do: CoMaps is my main map app that I use basically every day and works perfectly for all of my common/normal use cases. but once in a while I have a map/nav need beyond that and then OsmAnd's customizability is great!", "context": "", "use_case": "specialist map/nav needs", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}]}, {"label": "Hiking and topo", "summary": "Recommended for hiking because of topographic contours and relief shading.", "quotes": [{"id": 780804048, "item_id": 48800253, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48800253", "by": "epihelix", "date": "2026-07-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OsmAnd~ is great for hiking", "excerpt": "OsmAnd~ is great for hiking, when you need topographic contour info, 3D relief shading, etc. CoMaps is a much simpler and faster interface, that I use for driving navigation. (I use a 7 year old S10e, though, so it's possible that on a modern phone you'd not notice the difference?) YMMV, but they're both free, so it's easy to try and see for yourself :)", "context": "", "use_case": "hiking with topo contours", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 780870256, "item_id": 48804391, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48804391", "by": "ffaser5gxlsll", "date": "2026-07-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "bite the bullet and get osmand", "excerpt": "I'm also a regular OSM contributor and I cycle between various apps/layers. I'm in the alpine region, regular hiker, and osm is the only map source I use (frankly, I find gmaps to be garbage for anything except looking up businesses). I regularly try comaps, but while it's pretty smooth at rendering, the detail is visibly lacking at anything except maximum zoom level. When enabling contour lines, it's cluttered and h", "context": "OSM contributor, alpine hiker", "use_case": "hiking maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 789428593, "item_id": 49339287, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49339287", "by": "tengwar2", "date": "2026-08-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "OSMand App for topographic maps", "excerpt": "Yes, of course. In my case Waze to get there efficiently, OSMand App for topographic maps, and occasionally Apple Maps (works well with addresses in Calendar) and Sygic. I use them in the car, and on my bike: ruggedised CarPlay / Android Auto screens are rapidly displacing ruggedised satnavs on bikes. Playing audiobooks and podcasts is handy, as is getting text messages read out with dictation for reply, but it's nav", "context": "drives and bikes", "use_case": "topographic maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI"}]}, {"label": "Offline and private", "summary": "Works offline and can run without network permission except for map updates.", "quotes": [{"id": 793099937, "item_id": 49568746, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49568746", "by": "rustcleaner", "date": "2026-09-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OSMAnd~ shows me where ALPRs are, so I can plan my routes around Flock.", "excerpt": "I've replaced batteries on Pixel 3 XL and Pixel 6 Pro, both having run GrapheneOS. I use OSMAnd~ with no network permission (except during maps/POI updates). OSMAnd~ shows me where ALPRs are, so I can plan my routes around Flock. :^)", "context": "", "use_case": "offline maps and ALPR avoidance", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+"}, {"id": 788621009, "item_id": 49288813, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49288813", "by": "rustcleaner", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "manually create a route in OSMAnd~ (no Network permission) to avoid the cameras", "excerpt": "I am lucky to be in a city which has not rolled any of this out, but it's surrounded by cities which have gone whole-hog on rollout. I use DeFlock app to see camera locations (but do not route or give it GPS because it has Network permission), then manually create a route in OSMAnd~ (no Network permission) to avoid the cameras. OSMAnd really really needs to roll out an addon for ALPRs just like it has for speed camer", "context": "", "use_case": "offline route planning avoiding cameras", "switched_from": "", "story": "Flock Safety changes system defaults in response to criticisms"}, {"id": 793088369, "item_id": 49568023, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49568023", "by": "pilina", "date": "2026-09-04", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "sometimes Osmand+ for offline navigation", "excerpt": "Battery of my Cubot King Kong Mini is slowly dying. I use it with OpenTracks to record my commutes and use as bikecomputer and sometimes Osmand+ for offline navigation. I am searching for alternative, which needs to be waterproof and cheap (my commutes luckily includes downhill trails sometimes - I dont want to break expensive device). The title gave me high hopes, but I suppose I need to keep searching.", "context": "", "use_case": "offline navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Open-Source eInk Bike Computer"}]}, {"label": "Driving navigation", "summary": "Used as a Google Maps replacement for driving, including on Android Auto, with sensible main-road routes.", "quotes": [{"id": 777073872, "item_id": 48567117, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48567117", "by": "XorNot", "date": "2026-06-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've switched to OsmAnd for driving because it'll give a sensible main road following route.", "excerpt": "Maps straight up can't navigate sanely in Australia I've found. I've switched to OsmAnd for driving because it'll give a sensible main road following route. Google Maps reliably sends me down residential roads and adds a whole bunch of turns and then winds up with idiot ideas like \"turn right into this two way 4 lane road we tried to slightly avoid\".", "context": "driving in Australia", "use_case": "driving navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Why is Meta destroying its engineering organization?"}, {"id": 791293104, "item_id": 49455819, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455819", "by": "c0nsumer", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use OsmAnd very very frequently (it displays on my dash via Android Auto whenever I drive)", "excerpt": "100% this. I use OsmAnd very very frequently (it displays on my dash via Android Auto whenever I drive), but try and do something like load a GPX and show the line in a given color... Or add a pin at a specific point... It's not straightforward at all. Powerful, but very not straightforward.", "context": "power user", "use_case": "offline maps and navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 747695280, "item_id": 46730955, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46730955", "by": "giga_private", "date": "2026-01-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recently switched from google maps to osmand", "excerpt": "Love the idea. I recently switched from google maps to osmand and good indoor maps would definetely we another big advantage", "context": "", "use_case": "maps", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Indoor Mapping \u2013 OpenStreetMap Wiki"}]}, {"label": "Cycling", "summary": "Used as a bike navigator and track recorder.", "quotes": [{"id": 787295600, "item_id": 49205975, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49205975", "by": "brenainn", "date": "2026-08-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use osmand on my bike, it has a lock feature.", "excerpt": "I use osmand on my bike, it has a lock feature. And if you dig through the settings it probably has an option to prevent recalculation.", "context": "motorbike rider", "use_case": "motorbike navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "My phone detects going on a run as \"someone snatching my phone and running off\""}, {"id": 784090416, "item_id": 49005651, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49005651", "by": "pmontra", "date": "2026-07-22", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "all I need is wifi to update OSMAnd and send me the tracks I recorded", "excerpt": "I never sell anything, everything finds a new life. I got a Sony Xperia Compact from maybe 2016. I use it as a bicycle navigator / recorder. Recently it stopped reading SIMs, probably rusty contacts, but all I need is wifi to update OSMAnd and send me the tracks I recorded. I also have a very old tablet, maybe 2014. My SO uses it to view movies with VLC and TV via TVHeadend.", "context": "", "use_case": "bicycle navigation and recording", "switched_from": "", "story": "ScreenWall \u2013 Turn old phones into synced widgets for your space"}, {"id": 754766352, "item_id": 47172897, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47172897", "by": "elric", "date": "2026-02-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I love osmand. But every new update seems slower.", "excerpt": "I love osmand. But every new update seems slower. Navigation speed is mostly ok, I use it for walking and cycling which means routes tend to be short. But panning and zooming the map is just annoyingly slow. It sort of works when I disable most map features, but the map features are the reason I use osmand...", "context": "", "use_case": "walking and cycling navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "OsmAnd's Faster Offline Navigation"}]}, {"label": "OSM community", "summary": "Recommended by OpenStreetMap contributors and supports an open source project.", "quotes": [{"id": 781038801, "item_id": 48814925, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48814925", "by": "Freak_NL", "date": "2026-07-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "So we recommend CoMaps and OsmAnd, and carry on mapping.", "excerpt": "I don't really think it's primarily the CoMaps devs and contributors warning others about OrganicMaps. It's mostly OpenStreetMap contributors (e.g., mappers) like myself who followed the relevant discussions and events and decided that the community is better off routing around the problem. OrganicMaps could be the best app there is in terms of functionality (it isn't), but if there are significant issues with their ", "context": "OpenStreetMap contributor", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps \u2013 FOSS Offline Maps"}, {"id": 792109233, "item_id": 49506827, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49506827", "by": "stop50", "date": "2026-08-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "For navigation i use osmand", "excerpt": "I use and participate in openstreetmap. When i see an blocked road, like an construction, i can update the map within minutes. For navigation i use osmand, but i use a few tools that access openstreetmap in the background.", "context": "OpenStreetMap contributor", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Any Recommended Alternatives to Google Maps and Apple Maps?"}, {"id": 780769744, "item_id": 48798109, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48798109", "by": "VorpalWay", "date": "2026-07-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have been a happy user of OsmAnd+ for over 15 years at this point, I can strongly recommend it if you need power user features.", "excerpt": "I have been a happy user of OsmAnd+ for over 15 years at this point, I can strongly recommend it if you need power user features. (Yes the OsmAnd+ is the paid version, but it is the old pay-once version and I have definitely got my money's worth at this point, and it supports an open source project.)", "context": "", "use_case": "offline navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Confusing UI", "summary": "The interface is cluttered and hard to learn, and commenters say it is unsuitable for casual users.", "quotes": [{"id": 780907712, "item_id": 48806732, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48806732", "by": "TFNA", "date": "2026-07-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "of course some of us love OSMAnd", "excerpt": "We\u2019re on a nerd forum, so of course some of us love OSMAnd. But the general public finds that app too confusing. I know this firsthand because I\u2019m in a travel subculture where OSMAnd provides a very useful tool that Maps.me/Organic Maps/CoMaps does not, but whenever I recommend OSMAnd people react very badly to the app and get angry at me for directing them to something so unpleasant.", "context": "travel subculture", "use_case": "offline maps for travel", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 791288576, "item_id": 49455536, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455536", "by": "nkjvhb", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OsmAnd is a great powerusers app.  I use it daily.", "excerpt": "OsmAnd is a great powerusers app. I use it daily. However, I would not recommend OsmAnd to a normie. My family members, especially the older ones, all use CoMaps because it is much more friendly to them.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily mapping", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 780839490, "item_id": 48802468, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48802468", "by": "ponkipo", "date": "2026-07-06", "stance": "compare", "quote": "OSMAnd is nice, but too cluttered, OM is much easier to use.", "excerpt": "As a active OSM contibutor with 7k+ changesets, Organic is my favorite map app I use for years traveling around the world, also donated to them. Only use GMaps for finding businesses. Tried CoMaps, saw no reason to migrate to it at all - why migrate to basically no-name app (in terms of popularity) which is developed by who knows who (not even a Maps Me or OM devs) if Organic is totally good, has updates, stable, wor", "context": "active OSM contributor with 7k+ changesets", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}]}, {"label": "Slow performance", "summary": "Some report slow map panning, slow route calculation, and that it is slower than CoMaps or Organic Maps.", "quotes": [{"id": 754766352, "item_id": 47172897, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47172897", "by": "elric", "date": "2026-02-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I love osmand. But every new update seems slower.", "excerpt": "I love osmand. But every new update seems slower. Navigation speed is mostly ok, I use it for walking and cycling which means routes tend to be short. But panning and zooming the map is just annoyingly slow. It sort of works when I disable most map features, but the map features are the reason I use osmand...", "context": "", "use_case": "walking and cycling navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "OsmAnd's Faster Offline Navigation"}, {"id": 754758448, "item_id": 47172403, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47172403", "by": "szewachvice", "date": "2026-02-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I love Osmand, but bugs like these are par for the course with the app.", "excerpt": "I don't know how everyone is getting these faster speeds. I set my navigation to HH x C++ and it still takes several minutes to calculate routes of just a couple km. I love Osmand, but bugs like these are par for the course with the app. Going back to online Graphhopper routing.", "context": "", "use_case": "offline navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "OsmAnd's Faster Offline Navigation"}, {"id": 791287681, "item_id": 49455480, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455480", "by": "jech", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "OsmAnd has more features, CoMaps and Organic Maps are much faster.", "excerpt": "> It has more features but is slower and clunkier Just to clarify: OsmAnd has more features, CoMaps and Organic Maps are much faster. (Aside: I'm using CoMaps myself. The main missing features are tracking (I use OpenTracks for that) and public transportation (I use a website for that). End of aside.)", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}]}, {"label": "Feature bloat", "summary": "The growing list of niche features makes commonly used features harder to find.", "quotes": [{"id": 791394609, "item_id": 49462163, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49462163", "by": "Vinnl", "date": "2026-08-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used OsmAnd for a long time, and it's a great app that I learned how to use well.", "excerpt": "To illustrate this, look at OsmAnd's most recent blog post [1]. They've recently been looking at adding pretty extensive Astronomy features. Before that, they added a lot of nautical tooling [2]. This is all very cool if you use that, but if you don't, the laundry list of such features make it harder to find the features you do use. I used OsmAnd for a long time, and it's a great app that I learned how to use well. A", "context": "", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 791293104, "item_id": 49455819, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455819", "by": "c0nsumer", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use OsmAnd very very frequently (it displays on my dash via Android Auto whenever I drive)", "excerpt": "100% this. I use OsmAnd very very frequently (it displays on my dash via Android Auto whenever I drive), but try and do something like load a GPX and show the line in a given color... Or add a pin at a specific point... It's not straightforward at all. Powerful, but very not straightforward.", "context": "power user", "use_case": "offline maps and navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}]}, {"label": "Map subscription", "summary": "Downloading maps now requires a subscription, which infrequent users find hard to justify.", "quotes": [{"id": 791291473, "item_id": 49455717, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455717", "by": "swasheck", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "just downloading maps costs a subscription now", "excerpt": "after about 6 years of using OSMAnd, i\u2019m pivoting to CoMaps for a hike through switzerland that i\u2019m leaving for tonight. i don\u2019t actually need all of the features of OSMAnd and just downloading maps costs a subscription now. id pay outright for it but i just can\u2019t justify a subscription for how infrequently i use it", "context": "", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 791322592, "item_id": 49457662, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49457662", "by": "swasheck", "date": "2026-08-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "i use it every other year though and otherwise simply don\u2019t.", "excerpt": "maybe. i use it every other year though and otherwise simply don\u2019t. i never said that it wasn\u2019t super cheap, i just said it wasn\u2019t cost-effective for my usage profile.", "context": "infrequent user", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}]}, {"label": "Bugs", "summary": "One user says bugs are par for the course with the app.", "quotes": [{"id": 754758448, "item_id": 47172403, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47172403", "by": "szewachvice", "date": "2026-02-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I love Osmand, but bugs like these are par for the course with the app.", "excerpt": "I don't know how everyone is getting these faster speeds. I set my navigation to HH x C++ and it still takes several minutes to calculate routes of just a couple km. I love Osmand, but bugs like these are par for the course with the app. Going back to online Graphhopper routing.", "context": "", "use_case": "offline navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "OsmAnd's Faster Offline Navigation"}]}], "who": [{"by": "stop50", "context": "OpenStreetMap contributor", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49506827", "date": "2026-08-31"}, {"by": "swasheck", "context": "infrequent user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49457662", "date": "2026-08-27"}, {"by": "c0nsumer", "context": "power user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455819", "date": "2026-08-26"}, {"by": "lucgommans", "context": "long-time OsmAnd user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455727", "date": "2026-08-26"}, {"by": "tengwar2", "context": "drives and bikes", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49339287", "date": "2026-08-17"}, {"by": "brenainn", "context": "motorbike rider", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49205975", "date": "2026-08-06"}, {"by": "Freak_NL", "context": "OpenStreetMap contributor", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48814925", "date": "2026-07-07"}, {"by": "TFNA", "context": "travel subculture", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48806732", "date": "2026-07-06"}, {"by": "ffaser5gxlsll", "context": "OSM contributor, alpine hiker", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48804391", "date": "2026-07-06"}, {"by": "XorNot", "context": "driving in Australia", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48567117", "date": "2026-06-17"}, {"by": "Aachen", "context": "uses phone for mapping and note-taking outdoors", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47249419", "date": "2026-03-04"}], "tags": ["for power users", "for hikers", "for cyclists", "works offline", "for OSM contributors"], "use_cases": ["offline maps", "offline navigation", "offline maps and alpr avoidance", "navigation", "offline maps and navigation", "route planning with waypoints"], "compared": [{"slug": "comaps", "name": "CoMaps", "co": 16, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 2}, {"slug": "organic-maps", "name": "Organic Maps", "co": 10, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "google-maps", "name": "Google Maps", "co": 5, "switched_from": 2, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "opentracks", "name": "OpenTracks", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "openstreetmap", "name": "OpenStreetMap", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49452671", "title": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela", "mentions": 8}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48794446", "title": "Organic Maps", "mentions": 6}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48808928", "title": "CoMaps \u2013 FOSS Offline Maps", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47170157", "title": "OsmAnd's Faster Offline Navigation", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49563784", "title": "How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49567437", "title": "Show HN: Open-Source eInk Bike Computer", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 2}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 6, "neutral": 2, "compare": 1}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 7, "neutral": 3, "warn": 1}, "2026-09": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 793099937, "item_id": 49568746, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49568746", "by": "rustcleaner", "date": "2026-09-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OSMAnd~ shows me where ALPRs are, so I can plan my routes around Flock.", "excerpt": "I've replaced batteries on Pixel 3 XL and Pixel 6 Pro, both having run GrapheneOS. I use OSMAnd~ with no network permission (except during maps/POI updates). OSMAnd~ shows me where ALPRs are, so I can plan my routes around Flock. :^)", "context": "", "use_case": "offline maps and ALPR avoidance", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+"}, {"id": 793088369, "item_id": 49568023, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49568023", "by": "pilina", "date": "2026-09-04", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "sometimes Osmand+ for offline navigation", "excerpt": "Battery of my Cubot King Kong Mini is slowly dying. I use it with OpenTracks to record my commutes and use as bikecomputer and sometimes Osmand+ for offline navigation. I am searching for alternative, which needs to be waterproof and cheap (my commutes luckily includes downhill trails sometimes - I dont want to break expensive device). The title gave me high hopes, but I suppose I need to keep searching.", "context": "", "use_case": "offline navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Open-Source eInk Bike Computer"}, {"id": 792109233, "item_id": 49506827, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49506827", "by": "stop50", "date": "2026-08-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "For navigation i use osmand", "excerpt": "I use and participate in openstreetmap. When i see an blocked road, like an construction, i can update the map within minutes. For navigation i use osmand, but i use a few tools that access openstreetmap in the background.", "context": "OpenStreetMap contributor", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Any Recommended Alternatives to Google Maps and Apple Maps?"}, {"id": 791394609, "item_id": 49462163, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49462163", "by": "Vinnl", "date": "2026-08-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used OsmAnd for a long time, and it's a great app that I learned how to use well.", "excerpt": "To illustrate this, look at OsmAnd's most recent blog post [1]. They've recently been looking at adding pretty extensive Astronomy features. Before that, they added a lot of nautical tooling [2]. This is all very cool if you use that, but if you don't, the laundry list of such features make it harder to find the features you do use. I used OsmAnd for a long time, and it's a great app that I learned how to use well. A", "context": "", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 791322592, "item_id": 49457662, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49457662", "by": "swasheck", "date": "2026-08-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "i use it every other year though and otherwise simply don\u2019t.", "excerpt": "maybe. i use it every other year though and otherwise simply don\u2019t. i never said that it wasn\u2019t super cheap, i just said it wasn\u2019t cost-effective for my usage profile.", "context": "infrequent user", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 791293104, "item_id": 49455819, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455819", "by": "c0nsumer", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use OsmAnd very very frequently (it displays on my dash via Android Auto whenever I drive)", "excerpt": "100% this. I use OsmAnd very very frequently (it displays on my dash via Android Auto whenever I drive), but try and do something like load a GPX and show the line in a given color... Or add a pin at a specific point... It's not straightforward at all. Powerful, but very not straightforward.", "context": "power user", "use_case": "offline maps and navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 791291632, "item_id": 49455727, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455727", "by": "lucgommans", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm one of those who grew up with OsmAnd and got used to having all those features", "excerpt": "> The problem I have most of all with the routing is that it seems to default to my location as either the From or To value (whichever is the one I haven't selected). Once that's been chosen it's not immediately clear how to change it Yeah this is an oft-asked question at least for OsmAnd, but I was recently corrected on this myself: so long as you don't press 'start' on the route, you can always change the from posi", "context": "long-time OsmAnd user", "use_case": "route planning with waypoints", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 791291473, "item_id": 49455717, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455717", "by": "swasheck", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "just downloading maps costs a subscription now", "excerpt": "after about 6 years of using OSMAnd, i\u2019m pivoting to CoMaps for a hike through switzerland that i\u2019m leaving for tonight. i don\u2019t actually need all of the features of OSMAnd and just downloading maps costs a subscription now. id pay outright for it but i just can\u2019t justify a subscription for how infrequently i use it", "context": "", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 791288576, "item_id": 49455536, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455536", "by": "nkjvhb", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OsmAnd is a great powerusers app.  I use it daily.", "excerpt": "OsmAnd is a great powerusers app. I use it daily. However, I would not recommend OsmAnd to a normie. My family members, especially the older ones, all use CoMaps because it is much more friendly to them.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily mapping", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 791287809, "item_id": 49455488, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455488", "by": "gedankenstuecke", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "then OsmAnd's customizability is great!", "excerpt": "100% agree - I think even some of the CoMaps contributors use OsmAnd for the rare specialist use cases. I know I do: CoMaps is my main map app that I use basically every day and works perfectly for all of my common/normal use cases. but once in a while I have a map/nav need beyond that and then OsmAnd's customizability is great!", "context": "", "use_case": "specialist map/nav needs", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 791287681, "item_id": 49455480, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455480", "by": "jech", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "OsmAnd has more features, CoMaps and Organic Maps are much faster.", "excerpt": "> It has more features but is slower and clunkier Just to clarify: OsmAnd has more features, CoMaps and Organic Maps are much faster. (Aside: I'm using CoMaps myself. The main missing features are tracking (I use OpenTracks for that) and public transportation (I use a website for that). End of aside.)", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela"}, {"id": 789428593, "item_id": 49339287, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49339287", "by": "tengwar2", "date": "2026-08-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "OSMand App for topographic maps", "excerpt": "Yes, of course. In my case Waze to get there efficiently, OSMand App for topographic maps, and occasionally Apple Maps (works well with addresses in Calendar) and Sygic. I use them in the car, and on my bike: ruggedised CarPlay / Android Auto screens are rapidly displacing ruggedised satnavs on bikes. Playing audiobooks and podcasts is handy, as is getting text messages read out with dictation for reply, but it's nav", "context": "drives and bikes", "use_case": "topographic maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI"}, {"id": 788621009, "item_id": 49288813, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49288813", "by": "rustcleaner", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "manually create a route in OSMAnd~ (no Network permission) to avoid the cameras", "excerpt": "I am lucky to be in a city which has not rolled any of this out, but it's surrounded by cities which have gone whole-hog on rollout. I use DeFlock app to see camera locations (but do not route or give it GPS because it has Network permission), then manually create a route in OSMAnd~ (no Network permission) to avoid the cameras. OSMAnd really really needs to roll out an addon for ALPRs just like it has for speed camer", "context": "", "use_case": "offline route planning avoiding cameras", "switched_from": "", "story": "Flock Safety changes system defaults in response to criticisms"}, {"id": 787295600, "item_id": 49205975, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49205975", "by": "brenainn", "date": "2026-08-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use osmand on my bike, it has a lock feature.", "excerpt": "I use osmand on my bike, it has a lock feature. And if you dig through the settings it probably has an option to prevent recalculation.", "context": "motorbike rider", "use_case": "motorbike navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "My phone detects going on a run as \"someone snatching my phone and running off\""}, {"id": 784090416, "item_id": 49005651, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49005651", "by": "pmontra", "date": "2026-07-22", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "all I need is wifi to update OSMAnd and send me the tracks I recorded", "excerpt": "I never sell anything, everything finds a new life. I got a Sony Xperia Compact from maybe 2016. I use it as a bicycle navigator / recorder. Recently it stopped reading SIMs, probably rusty contacts, but all I need is wifi to update OSMAnd and send me the tracks I recorded. I also have a very old tablet, maybe 2014. My SO uses it to view movies with VLC and TV via TVHeadend.", "context": "", "use_case": "bicycle navigation and recording", "switched_from": "", "story": "ScreenWall \u2013 Turn old phones into synced widgets for your space"}, {"id": 781050672, "item_id": 48815667, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48815667", "by": "mid-kid", "date": "2026-07-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OSMAnd has a genuinely insane featureset for a free software app that keeps surprising me every time I use it.", "excerpt": "I'm honestly confused why OSMAnd~ (from F-Droid) is never mentioned. I've tried both Organic Maps and CoMaps and I can't find a single reason to use them, OSMAnd has a genuinely insane featureset for a free software app that keeps surprising me every time I use it. From telling you exactly which maps you need to calculate a route, to rich bookmarking options and grouping, all the different builtin map modes like boat", "context": "", "use_case": "offline maps, routing, hiking", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps \u2013 FOSS Offline Maps"}, {"id": 781038801, "item_id": 48814925, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48814925", "by": "Freak_NL", "date": "2026-07-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "So we recommend CoMaps and OsmAnd, and carry on mapping.", "excerpt": "I don't really think it's primarily the CoMaps devs and contributors warning others about OrganicMaps. It's mostly OpenStreetMap contributors (e.g., mappers) like myself who followed the relevant discussions and events and decided that the community is better off routing around the problem. OrganicMaps could be the best app there is in terms of functionality (it isn't), but if there are significant issues with their ", "context": "OpenStreetMap contributor", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps \u2013 FOSS Offline Maps"}, {"id": 780907712, "item_id": 48806732, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48806732", "by": "TFNA", "date": "2026-07-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "of course some of us love OSMAnd", "excerpt": "We\u2019re on a nerd forum, so of course some of us love OSMAnd. But the general public finds that app too confusing. I know this firsthand because I\u2019m in a travel subculture where OSMAnd provides a very useful tool that Maps.me/Organic Maps/CoMaps does not, but whenever I recommend OSMAnd people react very badly to the app and get angry at me for directing them to something so unpleasant.", "context": "travel subculture", "use_case": "offline maps for travel", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 780870256, "item_id": 48804391, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48804391", "by": "ffaser5gxlsll", "date": "2026-07-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "bite the bullet and get osmand", "excerpt": "I'm also a regular OSM contributor and I cycle between various apps/layers. I'm in the alpine region, regular hiker, and osm is the only map source I use (frankly, I find gmaps to be garbage for anything except looking up businesses). I regularly try comaps, but while it's pretty smooth at rendering, the detail is visibly lacking at anything except maximum zoom level. When enabling contour lines, it's cluttered and h", "context": "OSM contributor, alpine hiker", "use_case": "hiking maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 780839490, "item_id": 48802468, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48802468", "by": "ponkipo", "date": "2026-07-06", "stance": "compare", "quote": "OSMAnd is nice, but too cluttered, OM is much easier to use.", "excerpt": "As a active OSM contibutor with 7k+ changesets, Organic is my favorite map app I use for years traveling around the world, also donated to them. Only use GMaps for finding businesses. Tried CoMaps, saw no reason to migrate to it at all - why migrate to basically no-name app (in terms of popularity) which is developed by who knows who (not even a Maps Me or OM devs) if Organic is totally good, has updates, stable, wor", "context": "active OSM contributor with 7k+ changesets", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 780818864, "item_id": 48801179, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48801179", "by": "codingjoe", "date": "2026-07-05", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use it mostly for hiking.", "excerpt": "Yes, you can toggle a setting to use the network colors. I use it mostly for hiking. The UI is a learning curve, 100%, I am curious to check another tool", "context": "", "use_case": "hiking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 780804048, "item_id": 48800253, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48800253", "by": "epihelix", "date": "2026-07-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "OsmAnd~ is great for hiking", "excerpt": "OsmAnd~ is great for hiking, when you need topographic contour info, 3D relief shading, etc. CoMaps is a much simpler and faster interface, that I use for driving navigation. (I use a 7 year old S10e, though, so it's possible that on a modern phone you'd not notice the difference?) YMMV, but they're both free, so it's easy to try and see for yourself :)", "context": "", "use_case": "hiking with topo contours", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 780769744, "item_id": 48798109, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48798109", "by": "VorpalWay", "date": "2026-07-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have been a happy user of OsmAnd+ for over 15 years at this point, I can strongly recommend it if you need power user features.", "excerpt": "I have been a happy user of OsmAnd+ for over 15 years at this point, I can strongly recommend it if you need power user features. (Yes the OsmAnd+ is the paid version, but it is the old pay-once version and I have definitely got my money's worth at this point, and it supports an open source project.)", "context": "", "use_case": "offline navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Organic Maps"}, {"id": 777073872, "item_id": 48567117, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48567117", "by": "XorNot", "date": "2026-06-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've switched to OsmAnd for driving because it'll give a sensible main road following route.", "excerpt": "Maps straight up can't navigate sanely in Australia I've found. I've switched to OsmAnd for driving because it'll give a sensible main road following route. Google Maps reliably sends me down residential roads and adds a whole bunch of turns and then winds up with idiot ideas like \"turn right into this two way 4 lane road we tried to slightly avoid\".", "context": "driving in Australia", "use_case": "driving navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Why is Meta destroying its engineering organization?"}, {"id": 755990704, "item_id": 47249419, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47249419", "by": "Aachen", "date": "2026-03-04", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "The software I use (e.g.: OsmAnd)", "excerpt": "> Why such a restriction? Sorry, that wasn't clear: I meant any phone that I can purchase as of 2025. I was looking for several months and made a decision about 2 months ago. A second-hand Pixel was a big compromise but I don't see another option > https://puri.sm/posts/the-danger-of-focusing-on-specs/ Do you also have thoughts to add or am I supposed to respond to an entire blog's worth of material here? I'm not foc", "context": "uses phone for mapping and note-taking outdoors", "use_case": "mapping and navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Motorola GrapheneOS devices will be bootloader unlockable/relockable"}, {"id": 754766352, "item_id": 47172897, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47172897", "by": "elric", "date": "2026-02-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I love osmand. But every new update seems slower.", "excerpt": "I love osmand. But every new update seems slower. Navigation speed is mostly ok, I use it for walking and cycling which means routes tend to be short. But panning and zooming the map is just annoyingly slow. It sort of works when I disable most map features, but the map features are the reason I use osmand...", "context": "", "use_case": "walking and cycling navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "OsmAnd's Faster Offline Navigation"}, {"id": 754758448, "item_id": 47172403, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47172403", "by": "szewachvice", "date": "2026-02-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I love Osmand, but bugs like these are par for the course with the app.", "excerpt": "I don't know how everyone is getting these faster speeds. I set my navigation to HH x C++ and it still takes several minutes to calculate routes of just a couple km. I love Osmand, but bugs like these are par for the course with the app. Going back to online Graphhopper routing.", "context": "", "use_case": "offline navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "OsmAnd's Faster Offline Navigation"}, {"id": 747695280, "item_id": 46730955, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46730955", "by": "giga_private", "date": "2026-01-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recently switched from google maps to osmand", "excerpt": "Love the idea. I recently switched from google maps to osmand and good indoor maps would definetely we another big advantage", "context": "", "use_case": "maps", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Indoor Mapping \u2013 OpenStreetMap Wiki"}]}