1609
Organic Maps got removed from Google Play Store.
(sh.itjust.works)
Apk Link: https://cdn.organicmaps.app/apk/OrganicMaps-24081605-GooglePlay.apk
Note: If you don't want to deal with stuff like this, I recommend you download and use it from F-Droid client or Accrescent AppStore.
Update: The app returned to the App Store.
This app is great. If it offered some sort of traffic aware navigation routing I would use it as my daily driver. I live in the city and traffic conditions can make a huge difference. Unfortunately, I don't think it has this capability. Hopefully someday.
The problem with live traffic awareness is, that it needs a lot of data to be collected all the time, something only Google or Apple with their monopolistic and privacy invasive ppwer can do. How it works (simplified) is that Google can detect if a lot of phones are on the same street and therefore assumes traffic. This data is, however, proprietary to Google. A FOSS App has the following problems:
Solutions would be:
So sadly similar dunctionality will not come in the near future in any FOSS app.
Waze was able to do it (before Google bought them).
Waze still does it.
The data pulled in by Waze is independent from the data pulled in by Google Maps.
Waze doesn't use Google's traffic data, but Google does read data out of Waze's.
Yet somehow Waze still has more accurate real time traffic info in the app.
I'd be willing to share anonymized data as part of a collective traffic data alternative to Google. I imagine there would still be data fees associated with this data collection. We just really need to get an open source alternative to gmaps going. Gmaps is only getting worse. Like, what if something like Street Complete was also able to collect traffic data and feed it into a sharable database?
Alternatively, I wonder if they could buy traffic data from a third party like Garmin or something. I'd be willing to pay a small monthly fee to get away from Google.