Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/App Store
Google Maps, Waze, and Apple Maps might dominate the navigation space, but the competition is getting fiercer, especially as more apps join the battle with innovative ideas.
Just earlier this week, the navigation experts at Sygic announced a massive makeover of their Android app, aligning the experience with modern expectations and giving Google Maps users another reason to jump ship.
Now, an application called Journey Navigation announces iPhone and CarPlay support with an impressive feature lineup you won't find elsewhere.
First, Journey promises weather data for the selected route. You can explore the map to see how the route changes as you get closer to the destination so you know in advance when you can expect rain. Similar apps are already on the App Store, including Weather on the Way, but Journey sports an all-in-one navigation package.
Including ad-free navigation, that is. The parent company says you'll get a clean experience when running the app to the destination. The application looks clean and straightforward, with the focus put on the guidance offered to users. It includes lane assistance, a speedometer, the speed limit, and a map view to see the route. The maps are provided by TomTom, so they should be accurate and up-to-date. TomTom is one of the biggest names in the mapping world, and several carmakers and tech companies use its software to power navigation capabilities and related features.
Journey also comes with a feature called Route Watch. It creates a summary of the information you must be aware of when beginning a new journey, with alerts regarding the weather, accidents, roadworks, and other hazards. However, incident reporting is unavailable, so you can't mark the hazards you find on the road. All the data is provided by TomTom from its sources, including official traffic agencies and other government bodies.
The application offers departure reminders, calculating how much it'll take to reach the destination and then offering a notification to let you know when it's time to leave. Similar capabilities are also baked into other navigation solutions, including Waze, so it's nice to see them becoming more widely adopted in the navigation space.
The subscription model is the only shortcoming that could make people walk away and not even try out Journey. The application is not available for free, though the parent company offers a seven-day trial to let you take everything for a spin without paying.
One of the best things is the iPad support. If you use an Apple tablet for driving (hello, Tesla owners drooling over CarPlay integration), you can run Journey on the larger screen and, therefore, get all the features in your car, too. Otherwise, you'll need an iPhone running iOS 16 to install the application and launch it on CarPlay.
Now, an application called Journey Navigation announces iPhone and CarPlay support with an impressive feature lineup you won't find elsewhere.
First, Journey promises weather data for the selected route. You can explore the map to see how the route changes as you get closer to the destination so you know in advance when you can expect rain. Similar apps are already on the App Store, including Weather on the Way, but Journey sports an all-in-one navigation package.
Including ad-free navigation, that is. The parent company says you'll get a clean experience when running the app to the destination. The application looks clean and straightforward, with the focus put on the guidance offered to users. It includes lane assistance, a speedometer, the speed limit, and a map view to see the route. The maps are provided by TomTom, so they should be accurate and up-to-date. TomTom is one of the biggest names in the mapping world, and several carmakers and tech companies use its software to power navigation capabilities and related features.
Journey also comes with a feature called Route Watch. It creates a summary of the information you must be aware of when beginning a new journey, with alerts regarding the weather, accidents, roadworks, and other hazards. However, incident reporting is unavailable, so you can't mark the hazards you find on the road. All the data is provided by TomTom from its sources, including official traffic agencies and other government bodies.
The application offers departure reminders, calculating how much it'll take to reach the destination and then offering a notification to let you know when it's time to leave. Similar capabilities are also baked into other navigation solutions, including Waze, so it's nice to see them becoming more widely adopted in the navigation space.
The subscription model is the only shortcoming that could make people walk away and not even try out Journey. The application is not available for free, though the parent company offers a seven-day trial to let you take everything for a spin without paying.
One of the best things is the iPad support. If you use an Apple tablet for driving (hello, Tesla owners drooling over CarPlay integration), you can run Journey on the larger screen and, therefore, get all the features in your car, too. Otherwise, you'll need an iPhone running iOS 16 to install the application and launch it on CarPlay.
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