The new version of Locus Map adds support for Android Auto, a feature the community has long requested! From now on, you can use your favorite navigation app on the dashboard of a car or motorcycle that supports Google’s Android Auto. And there are other exciting features as well.

What you can look forward to:

• Android Auto
• Photos and videos taken during the track recording
• New chart display system
• A more intuitive selection of routing profiles 

Android Auto

With Android Auto, you can launch a mobile app from your phone onto the dashboard of a supported vehicle or third-party device—whether it’s a car or a motorcycle. In this case, the app features a customized interface designed for easier and safer use by the driver.

With the new version of Locus Map, if you have Premium Gold, you can see your favorite map on the car’s screen as soon as you start the app. 

What can it do?

Maps of your choice

You can now display any map you have in Locus Map on your car’s dashboard. Whether it’s our LoMaps in online or offline versions, road maps, hiking maps, satellite maps, or maps from your favorite publisher. 

The map is automatically selected based on your phone’s settings, though you can override this setting directly in Android Auto. You can center the map, zoom in and out, and enable or disable rotation.  For best results, we recommend choosing the offline version of LoMap. Not only will this ensure that you can see the map while driving, even if you lose signal, but these maps also support rotating place names on the map to match the direction of travel. 

The map refresh rate is now determined by the location update frequency. In practice, this means one map refresh per second during active navigation. We are working on ways to make the display smoother. 

In navigation mode, Locus Map automatically applies the “Auto” preset and reverts the settings to their original state when navigation ends. So, if you want to customize the automatic map zoom settings based on speed, locate the corresponding “Auto” preset in Locus Map on your mobile phone. 

By default, the app automatically switches between light and dark modes based on the lighting conditions provided by the vehicle. If this behavior is undesirable for your use, you can configure it differently. In dark mode, the map is currently rendered as an inversion of the light mode. In some cases, the result may not be ideal. However, we plan to release a dedicated LoMap dark theme in the future. 

You can also display your custom waypoints on the map, a feature that geocaching enthusiasts—for whom Locus Map was originally created—will particularly appreciate. You can view caches, open a window with their basic information, and start turn-by-turn navigation to them. Hunting for “drive-ins” will now be a breeze. Similarly, you can also display your planned routes on the map. 

Another available layer over the map consists of auxiliary graphic elements that technically minded users will appreciate—these include time and distance circles, azimuth and direction lines, and dynamic elevation data that appears near the cursor. 

And if you really want to go all out, you can overlay a map on top of the base map on the car’s display—for example, using cadastral data from our WMS/WMTS library. There are no limits to our imagination—you know how it is ;). 

Search

Searching for a destination is an integral part of the basic features. Locus Map performs full-text searches for both points of interest (gas stations, restaurants, accommodation, campgrounds…) and mailing addresses. When stationary, you can use the keyboard or voice control via the vehicle’s audio system to enter your search; while driving, for safety reasons, only voice control is available.  The search history is identical to the history in the mobile app, so if you search for your destination on your phone in advance, all you need to do in the car is click on search and select the location from the autocomplete suggestions. You can then immediately start turn-by-turn navigation to the searched locations.

Navigation

The app can navigate to a selected destination, but also along a route that you plan in advance using the route planner in the mobile app or on the website. 

There are several ways to select a destination. As we mentioned earlier, you can choose a custom waypoint, such as a geocache. You can search for a location or address. And you can also simply tap directly on the map to create a destination. Locus Map will fill in the address automatically.

Locus Map offers two route calculation modes – fast and economy. The fast route connects the start and destination so that you spend as little time as possible on the journey. The fuel-efficient mode ensures that you save as much fuel as possible, thereby also helping the environment. The app remembers your last selection and automatically confirms the route after 5 seconds the next time you start navigation. 

Simultaneous use on your phone and Android Auto

Locus Map has one more trick up its sleeve. You can control it simultaneously on both the vehicle’s display and your smartphone. What’s the point of this? For example, you can use your smartphone to dynamically change the navigation content or destination and control certain features that aren’t available via the vehicle’s screen, for example, track recording. 

Summary

Locus Map was never developed exclusively as a road navigation app. And we don’t plan on changing that. But if its features suit your needs in this regard, why look for another app for car or motorcycle trips? Besides, we know how annoying it is to switch to a different navigation app once you’ve already found your location in LoMap. 

We’re curious to see how many of you will now use Locus Map for things like commuting to work by car. 🙂 If something doesn’t work as expected or if you find that certain features are missing, we’d love to hear your feedback!

Browse photos and videos from your trip

Everyone takes lots of photos and videos on their trips. Locus Map has long been able to display them over the map, but this time we’ve added the option to keep them all neatly organized right next to a specific track. They appear directly below the map with the track.

You can click on the photos to view them in detail:

Photo display is turned off by default. You can turn it on in Settings > Points and Routes > Show Media. When you launch the app, don’t forget to grant Locus Map access to your media. And rest assured—your photos and videos are processed exclusively within the app and never leave your mobile device. 

Detailed charts

The track graphs have been thoroughly updated. You can now set two curves on either the distance or time axis directly in the route details panel. You can choose from elevation, slope, speed, pace, heart rate, and other parameters. 

Tap a point on the graph to display the corresponding location on the track. This allows you to scroll through the track smoothly. 

You can click on a button next to the main graph to view more detailed information, which displays all available route parameters in separate graphs. The graphs are linked. You can zoom in and out as desired and view real-time values at a selected point along the track.

Simpler router settings

Selecting profiles for route planning in the route planner was a bit of a design challenge for us, but with the latest update, we firmly believe we’ve simplified and streamlined the process while retaining all customization options. And there’s something extra on top of that, but more on that later.

The entire route or just the next section?

This decision is now much simpler—just check or uncheck the “Entire Route” option at the bottom of the route profile selection. Then select the appropriate profile by tapping its name, and you can continue planning:

Custom settings

It’s located right below the button next to the profile name: 

If you’re in the middle of planning a route and want to change your settings, you can use them to recalculate both the next section and the entire route.

Full compatibility with BRouter profiles

Geek alert! For many of our die-hard fans, the profile customization options offered by the app aren’t enough. That’s why we’ve fully integrated Locus Map with the capabilities of the specialized route-planning software BRouter. This allows for truly detailed configuration of routing profiles. 

You can import external profiles into Locus Maps as BRF files (currently only via the system file manager, but we’re working on direct import as well). In the profile list, create a new profile, select the appropriate external file, and start tweaking the settings:

The possibilities are truly endless, so tech-savvy people can really let their creativity run wild.

Spring is in full swing, so head outside and try out all those new features! We can’t wait to hear what you think of them in the comments.