Organic Maps News & Updates

We recently received this email. If you are interested, or know relevant people, reply to the author directly:

Dear Organic Maps Team, I am currently writing my master’s thesis at TU Berlin, building on previous laboratory and field studies conducted by our department on “spatial deskilling”—the potential decline in spatial orientation skills associated with the use of navigation systems. As a possible way of counteracting this effect, these studies examined landmark-based navigation instructions. Such instructions incorporate salient features of the environment, such as shops or churches, as visual points of reference and may thereby support the acquisition of spatial knowledge. My qualitative follow-up study now focuses on practical implementation: How could this approach be integrated into existing navigation products? What challenges, opportunities, and potential use cases do practitioners see? As these questions cannot be answered through previous research alone, I depend on the experience and insights of people working directly on navigation products and open-source navigation projects. I am therefore looking for professionals and experienced contributors with expertise in areas such as navigation and routing, map data, product development, user experience, or product strategy. Given Organic Maps’ work on OpenStreetMap-based offline navigation, routing, and turn-by-turn guidance, perspectives from your team and community would be particularly valuable to my research. Would it perhaps be possible to forward my request to relevant team members or contributors, or to recommend suitable contacts? I would be very grateful for any assistance in reaching people whose work relates to these areas. Participation involves completing a written questionnaire containing open-ended questions. It can be completed flexibly, at the participant’s own pace, and without scheduling an appointment. The questionnaire takes approximately 30–45 minutes and is available in either English or German - Previous experience with landmark-based navigation is not required. I would be happy to provide further information about the study, including the study information sheet and questionnaire. Thank you very much for taking the time to consider my request and for any support you may be able to offer! Best regards, Anna Vera Tamira Hansmair Master’s Student Division of Biopsychology and Neuroergonomics Technische Universität Berlin hansmair@campus.tu-berlin.de

Is anyone on Crete 🇬🇷 in the upcoming week and want to meet with one of Organic Maps maintainers or test drive/improve Organic Maps? DM @biodranik

Bugfixes and improvements for public transport, routing, search, and bookmarks in the July 2026 update As you may have already noticed, the July Organic Maps update is out. Get it at https://get.omaps.org or on the App Store, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, Obtainium, Accrescent, and F-Droid. Thanks to your donations and feedback, in July we focused on bugfixes and improvements. In case you missed it, the following features from the previous June release are also available: • Public transport routes (live schedules are in development) • Satellite imagery • Alternate routes for driving, hiking, and cycling • New search and route planning interface for Android • Support for large accessibility fonts on iOS Detailed changelog Map & places • OpenStreetMap data updated as of July 14 • Notes reported to OpenStreetMap are now placed on the exact spot you selected, instead of in the middle of the whole street or area (Alexander Borsuk) • Improved place selection when tapping the map in regions that cross the 180° antimeridian (Viktor Govako) • Track elevation profiles no longer show outdated or empty charts after a track is deleted (Kiryl Kaveryn) Public transport • Stop, transfer, and station names now have a white outline to stay readable in both light and dark themes (Viktor Govako) • The subway layer reappears correctly after you close a public transport route preview (Mikhail Listratsenka) Routing & navigation • Route warnings (tolls, ferries, unpaved roads, steps, and so on) are now shown for all alternate routes (Viktor Govako) • Fixed a rare freeze while building a route (Viktor Govako) • Improved handling of dead ends and of start and finish points on restricted roads (Viktor Govako) • Fixed incorrect and missing turn instructions (Alexander Borsuk) iOS • New "Save search history" setting that lets you turn the history off and hide it if you would rather not keep it (Kiryl Kaveryn) • New Edit button to remove bookmarks more easily (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Bookmarks are now saved automatically when you leave the screen (Kiryl Kaveryn) • The color palette now offers predefined colors and lets you choose any custom color (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Improved the empty state of the elevation chart for a recorded track (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Improved the route progress shown on the Start button (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Reordering route stops no longer makes the list jump around (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Other minor interface improvements (Kiryl Kaveryn) Android • Opening hours now show split shifts (such as a lunch break), start from today, and display the whole week without a separate scrolling area (Owm Dubey, Alexander Borsuk, Mikhail Listratsenka) • Cleaner search bar with a combined clear and voice button, a clear icon that no longer moves, and layout fixes for landscape mode and phone rotation (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Reworked bookmark and track editor (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Route planning fixes and improvements (Mikhail Listratsenka) • The color picker now closes automatically, and a crash on Android 5 is fixed (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Fixed crashes (Alexander Borsuk, Mikhail Listratsenka) Desktop • The list of maps available for download is now sorted alphabetically (goncalo109560) Translations • Improved Chinese wording (Chenxi Zhao) • Updated Ukrainian translations (Nnifria) • Fixed Italian translations of map region names (Vittorio Bertola) Join beta testing to try early features and report issues: Hint: the beta version has new hillshading, improved elevation data with support for feet and meters, and other cool features! • iOS • Android • Flathub/Flatpak Happy summer! Organic Maps Team

New beta versions with improvements, bugfixes and fresh OSM map data are available. Get them at https://beta.omaps.org • TestFlight for iOS • AppTester for Android • Direct apk download http://cdn-beta.organicmaps.app/apk/2026.07.10-73-Google-beta.apk

• Fixed unexpected map style switching during routing on macOS (Alexander Borsuk) • Fixed a crash when closing the macOS app after exporting a KMZ file (Alexander Borsuk) Translations • Cantonese turn-by-turn voice guidance (Alexander Borsuk) • Updated German and French translations (Wuzzy, Alexander Borsuk) • Fixed incorrect "onto street" voice guidance translations for Chinese, Serbian, and Catalan (Alexander Borsuk) Join beta testing to try early features and report issues: • iOS • Android • Flathub/Flatpak We are grateful to all our users and contributors, to those who donate and give Organic Maps 5 stars in app stores. Together we can build the best maps app! With love, Organic Maps Team

Satellite imagery, public transport routes, alternate routes, new search and route planning interface for Android, large accessibility fonts support for iOS, and more in the June 2026 update There are many new exciting features and bugfixes in the June Organic Maps update to try out, including: • Satellite imagery • Public transport routes • Alternate routes • New search and route planning interface for Android • Large accessibility fonts support for iOS Get it at https://get.omaps.org or on the App Store, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, Obtainium, Accrescent, and F-Droid and let us know what you think! Detailed changelog • NEW! Public transport routing by subway, light rail, bus, and tram (Viktor Govako) • NEW! Alternate routes: in addition to the fastest route, the app now shows the shortest route (Viktor Govako) • NEW! Walking and cycling route warnings about steps, gates, and lift gates along the way (Viktor Govako) • NEW! Select any color for bookmarks (Alexander Borsuk, Mikhail Listratsenka) • NEW! Support for British National Grid (OS Grid), Irish Grid, and Irish Transverse Mercator (ITM) coordinates (Alexander Borsuk) • EXPERIMENTAL: Enable Satellite Imagery in Organic Maps settings with a custom raster tile server URL. We are still working on our own server, so please find an openly available one with {x}, {y}, {z} placeholders in its URL (Viktor Govako, renderexpert) • OpenStreetMap data updated as of June 24 (Viktor Govako) • Wikipedia data updated as of June 20, including articles in Italian (Alexander Borsuk) • Type ?map-download-server:https://your-server.com/ in the search window to override the Organic Maps map download servers. Type ?no-map-download-server to remove the override (Alexander Borsuk) Map rendering & styles • Better-looking patterns for beach, sand, scree, bare rock, orchard, and vineyard areas, plus protected area and wetland hatching (Alexander Borsuk) • Smoother curved text labels for roads and rivers (Viktor Govako) • Rivers, streams, and wetlands have higher contrast and are more visible in dark mode (Alexander Borsuk) • New and improved icons for category search and search results on the map (Anton Makouski) • Improved multilingual text shaping and rendering (Alexander Borsuk) • Various bug fixes and performance improvements (Viktor Govako) Tracks, bookmarks & routes • GeoJSON tracks now keep elevation and timestamps on import and export (Alexander Borsuk) • Fixed a crash after moving a track to another list (Viktor Govako) • Websites are now shown for heritage sites (Viktor Govako) • Operator names are now shown for unnamed search results. For example, an unnamed ATM now shows its bank (Anton Makouski) • Editor: corrected the description text for apartment-building OpenStreetMap edits/changesets (titanniya542-spec) • Improved HTML detection in bookmark and track descriptions (Alexander Borsuk) iOS • NEW! Accessibility support for Dynamic Type and large fonts (Kiryl Kaveryn) • NEW! Tap to choose between overlapping tracks and routes (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Improved HTML rendering of bookmark and track descriptions (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Cleaner table styling in the UI (Kiryl Kaveryn) Android • NEW! Search interface (Kavi Khalique, Mikhail Listratsenka, Alexander Borsuk) • NEW! Routing interface (Rishan, Mikhail Listratsenka, Alexander Borsuk) • Improved HTML rendering of bookmark and track descriptions (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Reduced APK size (Alexander Borsuk) • The voice icon is shown as disabled when no text-to-speech engine is available (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Long bookmark and track descriptions now show a "…more" button (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Various UI fixes and an API fix for returned point IDs (Mikhail Listratsenka) Desktop • Support for switching the displayed coordinate system (Alexander Borsuk) • Information about the selected place is now displayed on the left (Viktor Govako) • Fixed the context menu position (Osyotr) • Fixed OpenStreetMap login and edits hanging on Qt versions 6.4 and earlier (Alexander Borsuk)

Organic Maps Beta 2026.06.15: satellite imagery, public transport routing, new search and more Get the latest Organic Maps beta at https://beta.omaps.org/ or download APK: • OSM map data as of June 12 • NEW! Optional satellite imagery (Find "Map tiles" in the OM settings) • NEW! Public Transport routing with subway, light rail, BUS and TRAM • NEW! The shortest route as an alternative to the fastest route • NEW! Steps, gate, lift-gate route warnings on the map • NEW! Area objects hatching and filling with symbols (including forests) • NEW! Tracks/Routes multiselect • NEW! Custom download server by typing ?map-download-server:http://your-server.com in the search • NEW! iOS: Large fonts accessibility • NEW! Android: Redesigned Search UI/UX • NEW! Android: Detailed instructions for PT routing … and many more improvements and bug fixes! Want more cool features and less bugs? Donate to support the development!

Please check these features in Organic Maps beta version and let us know about any issues: • OSM map data as of June 3 • NEW! Alternative route - the shortest, in addition to the fastest • NEW! Steps, gate, lift gate route warnings • NEW! Tracks/Routes multiselect • Custom download server via special search command (`?map-download-server:https://custom.server/` , reset with `?no-map-download-server`) • Updated German and Cantonese translations • Navigation and Rendering CPU/Battery optimizations • TTS Cantonese translations (need to install TTS engine that supports Cantonese first: https://organicmaps.app/faq/voice/text-to-speech-tts-and-voice-directions-on-android/ , Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > Voices > Chinese > Sin-Ji > tap on sin-ji for iOS) • Multi-stop route deeplinks API like this one: om://v2/nav?destination=52.5163,13.3777&destination_name=Warehouse%20Berlin%20(Return)&waypoints=52.5304,13.3850|52.5450,13.3920&waypoint_names=Anna%20Schmidt|Bauer%20GmbH&mode=drive&callback=delivery%3A%2F%2Fjob%2F4521%2Freturn Android only: • NEW! Redesigned Search UI/UX • NEW! Detailed instructions for PT routing iOS: • NEW! Large fonts accessibility Note: emails of Android betatesters who did not install Organic Maps beta in 2026 were removed to free up a limited number of available slots. Re-subscribe to beta updates to improve Organic Maps and to peek new features before they are officially released. Android beta (FireBase AppTester): https://appdistribution.firebase.dev/i/9ec3bca5e2b47373 iOS beta (TestFlight): https://testflight.apple.com/join/lrKCl08I Direct link to apk: https://cdn.organicmaps.app/apk/2026.06.05-9-Google-beta.apk

Per-locale CJK glyphs on Android, track customization (Android color picker, iOS description editing), and new theme-park attractions in the next Organic Maps update Meet another Organic Maps May update with fixes and improvements (more details below). Organic Maps team is grateful to everyone who supports the project, donates, spreads the word, writes good reviews and contributes. More new features to come, including improved public transport, stay tuned! Get the update at https://get.omaps.org or on the App Store, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, Obtainium, Accrescent, and F-Droid. All platforms • OSM map data as of May 27, 2026 (Viktor Govako) • Added icons for boules, cycling, and motorsport places (Viktor Govako) • Added ceremonial gates, water slides, theme parks, and roller coasters (David Martinez) • Fixed Australia and New Zealand road shields (Viktor Govako) • Improved finger gestures for map control in perspective view during Navigation mode (Viktor Govako) • Fixed public transport routes for stations and other area objects (tap on a station or stop to see routes) (Viktor Govako) • Fixed rendering of speed limits for speed cameras (Alexander Borsuk) • Fixed antimeridian zoom-out with more than one world copy (Alexander Borsuk, Viktor Govako) • More accurate display of street and house addresses (Viktor Govako) • Fixed unnecessary map animations (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Stability and performance improvements (Alexander Borsuk, Viktor Govako) Translations • Improved French translations (Meenphie) • Improved Italian translations (Andrea Pappacoda) • Improved Spanish translations (Jesús L. Pinzolas) • Improved Ukrainian translations (Nnifria) • Improved Catalan translations, updated translations for several country and region names, fixed search synonyms for leisure=track (Alexander Borsuk) • Corrected translations for disused:bridge and disused:tunnel (alnzrv) iOS • NEW! Track text and HTML descriptions are now supported, the same way as descriptions for bookmarks. Press the pencil icon to add a description. (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Text-to-Speech (TTS) now picks the best installed voice for the language (Enhanced / Premium). See Organic Maps settings for how to download a higher-quality voice. (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Fixed a track-renaming bug where the new name was not properly updated (Kiryl Kaveryn) • CarPlay: fixed the recenter button (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Fixed crash when adding a bookmark on a hiking or cycling route (Alexander Borsuk) Android • NEW! Track text and HTML descriptions are now supported, the same way as descriptions for bookmarks. Press the pencil icon to add a description. (Mikhail Listratsenka) • NEW! Choose any color for tracks, not only a limited subset (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Korean, Chinese, and Japanese users will now see proper fonts based on device locale (Alexander Borsuk) • Fixed track place-page issues and "Open In" button (Mikhail Listratsenka) Linux and macOS • Added Chinese translations to the .desktop file comments (DeepChirp) Join beta testing to try early features and report issues: • iOS • Android • Flathub/Flatpak Travel easy, and find your adventures with Organic Maps! ✈️🚅🚌🚢🌴🗺️🌎 The Organic Maps Team

• Place page no longer dismisses when the elevation chart scrub ends, no longer bounces unexpectedly, and keeps the title visible when editing with the keyboard up (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Fixed elevation chart and circular progress colour issues when the system appearance changes (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Fixed crashes when deleting a track or bookmark that no longer exists (Kiryl Kaveryn) Android • NEW! Persistent altitude dashboard and refined route elevation profile, with proper RTL layout (Eric Jau, Mikhail Listratsenka) • Saved route state is now preserved across device rotation (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Single, unified route reference line in the place page (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Larger corner radius for bottom sheets, buttons, and drawables for a more consistent look (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Fixed layout glitches around the system bars and navigation bar (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Improved Wikipedia article display with better formatting, system colours, and dark mode handling (DeshDeepakKant, Mikhail Listratsenka) • Added vertical dividers between segments of multi-geometry tracks on the elevation graph (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Improved elevation chart scroll behaviour (Mikhail Listratsenka) • Right-to-left (RTL) layout fixes (Mikhail Listratsenka) Linux and Mac OS • Added a public transport route selector to pick a specific transit line when a stop is selected (Viktor Govako) • Show route action buttons directly in the place page (Viktor Govako) • Removed duplicated opening hours from the place page (Viktor Govako) • Intermediate route mark on a POI or address now shows the place's title (Viktor Govako) • Map downloads resume where they left off on graceful shutdown (Alexander Borsuk) • Organic Maps now works on OpenGL ES 3.0 drivers (Alexander Borsuk) Join beta testing to try early features and report issues: • iOS • Android We love our users ❤️ and we love what we do The Organic Maps Team

Tap a public transport stop to see transit routes on the map, bookmark labels no longer overlap, smaller downloaded regions in Vietnam, Malaysia, and southern China in May's Organic Maps update May's update brings full public transport support in Organic Maps a step closer. A bus, train, ferry, or tram stop is a starting point for the transit lines that pass through it — so tapping a route at a stop now shows that line, in its own colour, all the way across the map. Actual online schedules are coming too, don't forget to add/update OSM public transport data in your area if you haven't already! As always, many thanks to our contributors, your good reviews, donations, and support. Get the May update at https://get.omaps.org or on the App Store, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, Obtainium, Accrescent, and F-Droid. Highlights • Tap a bus, tram, train, or ferry stop on the map, and Organic Maps highlights the entire transit line, selectable from the list of displayed lines and routes. • Cleaner bookmark labels and a more legible map. New label placement keeps bookmark titles from crowding each other out, pedestrian areas are a touch darker, and route colours have been tuned for better contrast on both light and dark themes. • Finer regions across Asia. Vietnam and Malaysia are now split into smaller maps so you can download just the area you need, and Hong Kong, Macau, and Hainan are now separate from Guangdong. Release notes All platforms • NEW! Tap a public transport stop and select a route number to highlight the entire transit route on the map, like in the Subway map layer (Viktor Govako, Kiryl Kaveryn, Mikhail Listratsenka) • NEW! Bookmark labels on the map don't overlap (Viktor Govako) • Corrected elevation loss and gain calculations on the track graphs to better match values from other popular apps (Viktor Govako) • Long-distance public transport and other map relations are now stitched across map borders into a single continuous line (Viktor Govako) • Vietnam and Malaysia split into smaller, individually downloadable regions (Viktor Govako) • Hong Kong, Macau, and Hainan are separated from Guangdong, with neighbouring borders updated (Viktor Govako) • Updated isolines (contour lines) for Indonesia, Malaysia, Tanzania, Thailand, and Vietnam (Viktor Govako) • Routing: resumed routes now drop intermediate points you have already passed (Viktor Govako) • Added icons for active volcanoes and waterway access points; slipways are now searchable (David Martinez) • Added hookah lounges (alnzrv) • Added buildings under construction (Viktor Govako) • Added "Lookout" as a search synonym for viewpoints (alnzrv) • Added "pkwy" as a US street synonym (Viktor Govako) • Pedestrian area colours darkened slightly for better legibility (Viktor Govako) • Multi-line text is now clipped cleanly on the map (Viktor Govako) • Street names no longer contain duplicated parts (Viktor Govako) • Fixed KMB file import (Alexander Borsuk) • Updated translations across categories, search synonyms, and UI strings (Alexander Borsuk, Viktor Govako) • New South Wales and Northern Territory descriptions translated (alnzrv) • Improved stability and performance, including font shaping, glyph caching, and route line clipping (Viktor Govako, Alexander Borsuk) iOS • NEW! Track recording button added to the in-navigation info panel (Kiryl Kaveryn) • NEW! Two extra steps in the navigation dashboard for finer altitude/route information (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Updated elevation chart style in the navigation dashboard, with correct rendering for tracks that have negative altitudes (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Fixed wrong bookmark list shown in the TestFlight version (Alexander Borsuk) • Larger Stop button and bigger touch targets for in-navigation bottom panel buttons: TTS mute, settings, track recording (Kiryl Kaveryn) • Refined expandable description section animation in the place page (Kiryl Kaveryn)

Did you already try the latest beta? Get it at https://beta.omaps.org/ or from https://cdn.organicmaps.app/apk/2026.04.28-28-Google-beta.apk • OSM map data as of April 27 • NEW! Select a public transport stop (bus, tram, railway, ferry) and select the route number to see it on the map • NEW! Redesigned altitude (elevation) graph view for Tracks and Routes • Split regions and added isolines for Vietnam and Malaysia • Hong Kong, Macau, Hainan downloadable regions, updated borders, and isoline profiles • Bug fixes for antimeridian scroll • Tracks and Bookmarks rendering optimizations • Track/Route profile view fixes • Translation fixes