https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/StreetComplete
Basicaly a gamified editor that makes it easy and fun to fill in opening hours and onther important metadata while on the go. Frankly its almost addictive. :)
Another great tool for contributing to OSM is MapWithAI. It uses computer vision to identify the shapes of buildings and roads in satellite imagery, so that you can add them to the map with one click. The AI assistance considerably speeds up the process of adding items to the map, saving you from drawing them by hand.
MapWithAI is integrated with a fork of the online OSM editor (RapiD), which can also be used without learning about the technical details of OSM. If your area is missing a lot of buildings or roads in OSM, and you'd like to improve the maps, I encourage you to give it a try:
I try to use OSM as much as possible and this is perfect for me to contribute info on the go from now on.
When I read your description, I thought that maybe it was an app that prompted you to take a picture of the operating hours sign at a store when you visit, then sends the picture to a queue for someone to do the actual entry. The actual app is entirely different, but my idea might allow even more casual users, like me, to contribute. I don't have time to play an AR game like that, but I could easily snap a few pictures or answer some simple questions when I'm on the go.
In the past I have created a few of those ("gate is no longer there"/"way is blocked by trees", "there is a new ATM at this spot") and some of them have already been addressed (you get an email when it happens).
But what OSM lacks is real-time integration with public transport. If my bus is slow or redirected Google will tell me. I don't think this can be improved by the users. It really needs a data feed from the transport operators :'(
Missing real-time service updates, but otherwise good.
Now, of course, Google probably still has more real time data in this regard, especially since it's possible for them to aggregate it due to a large amount of users and so on.
It would be nice to have more FOSS projects pop up that would deal with providing company listings and reviews on the map like Google does, as well as would provide more real time transport information as well. But hey, at least OSM gives us a really good starting point, the rest is a matter of building it and getting the data!
(The app store ratings for HERE WeGo are a bit low because they recently rewrote the app and the first few versions were unstable. The rewrite added lane guidance, which is a useful feature to have for driving directions.)
- HERE WeGo (web): https://wego.here.com
- HERE WeGo (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.m...
- HERE WeGo (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/here-wego-maps-navigation/id95...
If the quality of the OSM data in your area is good, the best OSM-based apps are:
- Organic Maps (FOSS, simple interface): https://organicmaps.app
- OsmAnd (FOSS, loaded with features): https://osmand.net
- Magic Earth (proprietary, uses a non-OSM data source for address locations): https://www.magicearth.com
All 3 of these apps support both Android and iOS.
Exodus says that HERE WeGo has 1 tracker (Facebook Login):
- Exodus report for HERE WeGo: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.here.ap...
Organic Maps, OsmAnd, and Magic Earth have no trackers:
- Exodus report for Organic Maps: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/app.omaps/l...
- Exodus report for OsmAnd: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/net.osmand/...
- Exodus report for Magic Earth: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.general...
It may have changed since then and if so that's great!
The Facebook Android[2] and iOS[3] SDKs are source-available.
From a privacy perspective, when someone compares Google Maps to HERE WeGo, the question is whether using Google or HERE (plus the Facebook SDK) would be more of a privacy violation. I don't have a good answer to this question.
But from a market share perspective, HERE WeGo is a minor player compared to Google and using it instead of Google Maps would help curb Google's market dominance in mapping.
Of course, if a free and open source OSM-based app is viable for your area, I would go for that instead.
[1] https://f-droid.org/it/packages/com.celzero.bravedns/
Well unless you absolutely never use Google (which is hard), you're better off using Maps (as they track you anyway from occasional usage), where as it's easier to never use Facebook (in fact all Facebook IPs are outright blocked on my networks) so it's better to not provide any data to them at all.
So for me if I had to choose I'd prefer Google (who probably track me anyways during occasional usage of their services) over Facebook which aren't supposed to track me at all since I never use their services (and since I avoid all apps with FB malware in them, I don't think they can track me).
In my case I use Apple Maps which works well enough for me. I wish OSM-based alternatives were as good when it comes to POI searching but in London I found that OSM is even worse than Apple.
* https://joemorrison.medium.com/openstreetmap-is-having-a-mom...
I had this app for at least a year before Google Maps released similar functionality. I still use it occasionally as the UX is better if you already know what bus stop you want to use.
I live in east London, and the other day I searched for directions to "Barbican", which is both a tube station and landmark in central London. My transport preference in the app is set to public transport.
Apple Maps gave me driving directions to an island called "Barbican" in the middle of the sea somewhere.
I once planned in advance and saved a trip with intermediary steps ending at what it calls "Domicile" (its way of saying Home in french). The next day I open the trip and the destination is no longer my home but a place doing home cleaning close to my start...
I've experienced similar things, seems like one of the simpler problems to solve.
Other than that it works pretty well for me.
1) Search, Goolge maps is simply best in class here. Looking for whatever, Google maps finds the location or address
2) Route planning, either I am too stupid but most other solutions make it hard to chnage the starting point or add waypoints
Have to agree, Google Maps for everyday navigation is just the best. Even if routing used to be better, IMHO.
OpenRouteService work great for that, but there is no traffic prevision/live information. https://maps.openrouteservice.org/#/
Source? I've never heard of this. Maps has no relationship to the car's built-in navigation anyway.
Every car I've used with Google Maps has both, but you have to pay a fee to use the built-in navigation app.
Source: I drove one.
Second source: https://youtu.be/d8RJsXePE2M?t=28
Complaining about Google Maps on that car is like complaining about Google Maps on your Google Home screen. If you buy a car that is advertised as having Google software, you're going to get Google software.
Renault & GM, both of which demoed their AAOS version, enabled both CarPlay and Android Auto, so you could use another nav "app" with Android Automotive via projection.
Except it's easy for a competitor to scrape Maps and build their own using OSM.
They didn't do that, so my conclusion is either they don't have unlimited resources or they simply didn't really try hard enough.
I do have hope. It seems that there has been a lot of new enthusiasm for these tools lately, and some of them have key features in development.
Two low hanging fruits: 1) location bookmarking features that can be synced between mobile/desktop with third party sync tools. 2) Link conversion features that can take Google Maps (or other map links) as input and open the location in OSM tools, and vice-versa.
The real-world information directory is a much bigger challenge, but if the low hanging fruit features are developed enough that the average person could easily use open source / OSM tools for everything except a modern phone book, while still coordinating with peers who use Google Maps, then we'd have a much better foundation for tackling the issue.