OsmAnd

OsmAnd (OpenStreetMap Automated Navigation Directions) is a map and navigation app for Android and iOS.[3] It uses the OpenStreetMap (OSM) map database for its primary displays, but is an independent app not endorsed by the OpenStreetMap Foundation. It is available in both free and paid versions; the latter unlocks the download limit for offline maps and provides access to Wikipedia points of interest (POIs) and their descriptions from within the app.

OsmAnd
Street routing
Developer(s)Victor Shcherb, Alexey Pelykh, Hardy Mueller and others
Initial releaseJune 1, 2010 (2010-06-01)
Stable releaseAndroid: 3.6.3 (February 28, 2020 (2020-02-28)[1]) [±]
iOS: 3.0 (September 1, 2019 (2019-09-01)[2]) [±]
Repository
Written inJava, C++
Operating systemAndroid, iOS
Size39.0 MB
LicenseLicensing
Websiteosmand.net

Features

OsmAnd (OSM Automated Navigation Directions) is a map and navigation application with access to the free and worldwide OpenStreetMap (OSM) data.[4] All map data can be stored on the device's memory card for offline use. Via the device's GPS, OsmAnd offers routing, with visual and voice guidance, for car, bike, and pedestrian. All the main functionalities work both online and offline.

  • Works online or offline (no roaming charges)
  • Turn-by-turn voice guidance (recorded and synthesized voices)
  • Optional lane guidance, street name display, and estimated time of arrival
  • Supports intermediate points
  • Automatic re-routing
  • Search for places by address, by type (e.g.: restaurant, hotel, gas station, museum), or by geographical coordinates

Map viewing
  • Display the position and orientation on the map
  • Optionally align the map according to compass or the direction of motion of the device
  • Places can be saved as favorites
  • Display POIs (point of interests)
  • Can display online tile maps
  • Can display satellite view (from Bing)
  • Can display different overlays like touring/navigation GPX tracks and additional maps with customizable transparency
  • Optionally display place names in English, local, or phonetic spelling
  • With the Mapillary layer enabled (built-in plugin), view user-submitted street view images, play photo sequences[5]

Use OpenStreetMap and Wikipedia data
OsmAnd interface for downloading Wikivoyage articles offline
  • Global maps from OpenStreetMap, available per country or region
  • Wikipedia POIs (not available in the free version)
  • Unlimited free download, directly from the app (download limit 7 map files in free version - updates count as downloads[6][7][8])
  • Always up-to-date maps (usually 1-2 updates per month)
  • Compact offline vector maps
  • Select between complete map data and just road network (Example: All of Japan is 700 MB, or 200 MB for the road network only)
  • Also supports online or cached tile map

Safety features
  • Optional automated day/night view switching
  • Optional speed limit display, with a reminder if the user exceeds it
  • Optional speed-dependent map zooming
  • Location sharing and customizable transparency


Bicycle and pedestrian features
  • The maps include foot, hiking, and bike paths
  • Special routing and display modes for bike and pedestrian
  • Optional public transport stops (bus, tram, train) including line names
  • Optional trip recording to local GPX file or online service
  • Optional speed and altitude display
  • Display of contour lines and hill-shading (via additional plugin)

Turn on screen on turn feature

Until version 3.2.7 OsmAnd had a feature allowing the screen to be automatically turned on, when arriving at a turn and shut down after the turn. This significantly reduced the phone's electrical consumption, allowing it to be used as a navigation tool when biking and hiking and competing with specialised GPS devices (which are still used due to their low power consumption). Google modified the Play store (not Android) guidelines to no longer allow applications to turn the screen on or off and deleted the paying application OsmAnd+ from the store on March 2, 2019.[9]. As a result, this feature was removed from the free and paying versions and OsmAnd was reinstated to the Play store. People can still download the free 3.2.7 version as an APK, while turning off the Play Store's auto-update for this application, in order to use this feature.

Directly contribute to OpenStreetMap
  • Report map bugs
  • Upload GPX tracks to OSM directly from the app
  • Add POIs and directly upload them to OSM (or later if offline)
  • Optional trip recording also in background mode (while device is in sleep mode)

Public Transport
  • Calculate public transport routes based off openstreetmap public transport data.
  • Can avoid certain types of public transport (e.g. avoid buses, trams, trains etc.)

2020 Roadmap
  • Place Reviews
  • Travel + Wikivoyage improvements
  • Local GPX-access
  • iOS improvements: Public Transport, Measure Distance, GPX
  • OpenGL-rendering + 2.5D[10]

Licensing

OsmAnd development is on GitHub[11] and the source code is available under the GPLv3 license.[12] The application is available on Google Play in both a free[13] and a paid version (OsmAnd+)[14] which works as a donation to the developer, unlocks the download limit for offline maps, and provides access to Wikipedia POIs and their description from within the app. A community-compiled version of the full OsmAnd+ named OsmAnd~ without Google Play services dependency is also freely available on F-Droid.[15]

Some of the artwork – such as icons, banners, etc. – is licensed under Creative Commons Non-commercial No Derivative Works License (CC-BY-NC-ND) with an exception forbidding publishing a fork to main marketplaces.[16]

Pull requests from outside contributors – for both the Android and iOS versions – may be accepted under MIT license.[17]

Developer

OsmAnd is developed by a Dutch private limited company, OsmAnd B.V. located in Amstelveen, the Netherlands.[18][19]

Reception

The free version of the app has over 70,000 reviews on Google Play with an aggregrate rating of 4.5 stars.[20] Android Police reviewed OsmAnd in an article about the best free and open-source alternatives to Google Maps on Android.[21]

See also
  • Comparison of commercial GPS software

References
  1. OsmAND B.V. "OsmAnd - Android Apps on Google Play". Play Store. Google. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  2. OsmAND B.V. (19 April 2018). "OsmAnd Maps". App Store. Apple. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  3. "OsmAnd for iPhone is released".
  4. "OsmAnd Maps: a genius and helpful MapsApp". theappzine.com. May 31, 2015.
  5. Soloviova, Anna (18 August 2017). "Navigating with Images: Mapillary Plugin in OsmAnd". The Mapillary Blog. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  6. "OsmAnd - Offline Mobile Maps and Navigation". osmand.net. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  7. "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  8. "OsmAnd: How to update a map?". Geographic Information Systems Stack Exchange. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  9. https://twitter.com/osmandapp/status/1101771221493002240 OsmAnd+ deletion from Google Play Store on March 2, 2019
  10. "2020 New Year resolutions". OsmAnd. December 31, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  11. "Osmand". Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  12. "Osmand License". Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  13. "OsmAnd Maps & Navigation". Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  14. "OsmAnd+ Maps & Navigation". Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  15. "OsmAnd~". F-Droid. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  16. "FAQ". osmand.net. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  17. "OsmAnd-ios/PULL_REQUEST.MIT.LICENSE at master · osmandapp/OsmAnd-ios · GitHub". GitHub. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  18. Osmand privacy policy on osmand.net
  19. License on Github
  20. "OsmAnd — Offline Maps, Travel & Navigation". Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  21. "The best free and open-source alternatives to Google Maps on Android". Retrieved 2 May 2020.
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