Hello dear readers.
For many, the telephone is not only a means of communication, but also a full-fledged pocket assistant. It can help you find the information you need in a matter of seconds, remind you of an important event, quickly write a thought into a note, and much, much more. But today I want to talk about an equally important smartphone function – maps and GPS navigation.
With the advent of GPS receivers in phones, the life of many users has become much easier, because with the help of mobile maps you can quickly find the right place and choose the most optimal route to it, while you do not need to determine your location on the map, the device does everything for you throughout the entire route .
If there are no special problems with the search for online maps, for Android these are either standard Google maps or Yandex.Maps, then choosing offline maps is a little more difficult. Some people cannot plan a route without the Internet, others have no public transport routes, but I still managed to identify a leader, at least for the residents of Russia.
Yandex maps
Well, let's start, perhaps, with the maps of the domestic company Yandex. From them you can find two applications that are very similar in functionality – Yandex.Maps and Yandex.Navigator, the second has more convenient navigation for a car, but there is no navigation along public transport routes, otherwise these are identical applications and why they cannot be combined into one, I unclear. Yandex has high-quality and detailed coverage of the territory of Russia and neighboring countries (large cities of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine), which is what they are famous for. The look and feel of their apps leaves a lot to be desired, although this applies to almost all of today's contenders.
Yandex.Maps allow you to download a map of the city you need in order to have access to it without the Internet, but offline you lose the ability to use any navigation: when you try to plot a route, even on foot, you will admire the inscription 'Loading' while you turn on the Internet , but with a downloaded city map, the consumed Internet traffic for navigation is scanty. At the same time, the weight of the cards themselves is quite impressive, a detailed map of Moscow and the region takes 2.76 GB (!), Which is quite a noticeable amount for devices with 16 GB (or less) internal memory. With such a volume, for some reason, information about sights and other interesting points on the map (POI – points of interests), as well as search by them, is not available, there is no navigation inside shopping centers and the subway. That is, if you want to find a cafe somewhere nearby in an unfamiliar city, you will not be able to do it without the Internet, and if you know the address, then, again, it will not work without the Internet. In offline mode, only manual marks are shown, that is, all the places you need must be saved in advance. Anyway, they should work on the intuitiveness of the application, many actions are performed in an illogical and confusing way. For example, if you saw an interesting place on the map and want to get detailed information about it, click on it, but nothing happens. In such cases, you have to use either a search by name, or by long pressing on this place a context menu opens, there you select the item 'What's here?' and the application will show you nearby organizations and just now find the one you need. Complicated? Confused? Not that word. And there are quite a few such trifles.
In general, this is a good supplier of quality maps, but they should still work on the offline mode and the usability of the interface, since they added the ability to download maps, they should continue to work on it.
MAPS.ME
The developer in the description of his application states: 'MAPS.ME – Offline maps of all countries and cities from anywhere in the world!'. This is a very convenient map service for those who like to travel, because it is not always possible and willing to buy a SIM card from a local operator to use online maps, but at the same time you want to visit some interesting places without a guide. The application looks outwardly quite simple and concise, there are even elements and interface animations made according to Material Design guidelines. MAPS.ME uses map data from the OpenStreetMap project, where maps are created and edited by users. 
Navigation, both pedestrian and car, works with a bang and without the Internet. I was pleased with the speed of drawing maps, scaling is smooth and without jerking. For comparison: a detailed map of Moscow and the region weighs 389 MB, which is 7 times less than that of Yandex.Maps. I compared the maps of Chelyabinsk from Yandex.Maps and MAPS.ME and found some inaccuracies in the latter, for example, as in the screenshot below, there is a point 'bank,' but it is not indicated what kind of bank it is (in fact, there is a branch of Sberbank), but the buildings of my university are displayed in much more detail.
User-created maps still have their obvious pros and cons, for example, the description of most POIs is very scarce, since it is created by ordinary people and not everyone is responsive to this, but you can find interesting places that are not displayed on other maps . You can put a mark on the necessary places and have quick access to them. Of course, there is no question of navigation inside shopping centers, users simply do not have an option in the map editor.
The application is perfect for those who like walking in new cities and traveling by car.
HERE Maps
A navigation app from the former mobile giant Nokia, they recently announced that the mapping service has been sold to a consortium of German carmakers (Mercedes, Audi and BMW). Initially, HERE cards were exclusive to Nokia devices on Windows Phone, but later moved to other platforms. I want to say right away that this is the most beautiful application in terms of design of all those presented today, but there are complaints about the smoothness of the animation. A completely offline mode is available in the service, provided that you have already downloaded the map of the area you need. You can download both individual regions, countries, and continents as a whole. This is a separate plus for HERE, they have maps covering almost the entire territory of the planet, I think you will not get lost in 99.9% of cases, for example, going on a trip to Europe, you will not depend on the Internet and can easily navigate the terrain.
There are no complaints about the service as a navigator: convenient car navigation, there are voice instructions in Russian, speed control and other pleasant things, but there is no pedestrian navigation at all; the coverage of the terrain is satisfactory, at least in Russia, but for some reason the POIs on the map are not displayed quite correctly, the screenshot below shows how the icons 'crawled' onto the roadway. I would also like to see a more detailed description of institutions and organizations, now the displayed information contains only the name of the point, the address and only occasionally the phone number, but the search by the address and the name of the points works without the Internet. Individual places of interest can be added to favorites and have quick access to them. Just like in previous apps, there is a lack of navigation inside shopping centers, metro and public transport.
I highly recommend using HERE maps if you plan to travel by your own car.
2 GIS
The Russian cartographic company 2GIS has been producing maps since 1999. The main emphasis is on developing maps of Russian cities, but there is coverage of major cities in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, UAE, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic and Italy.
Outwardly, their application looks very simple, the design has not changed for a long time and this is the main disadvantage. But they have some of the most detailed maps of Russia today (if not the most). Moreover, they outperform the rest not only due to the high-quality coverage of cities, but also differ in more detailed information about all points on the maps (POI). Choosing any building, you will see a list of organizations located in it and service services (Internet providers, post offices, etc.) and, most importantly, how to find the entrance to the company you need, which is very important for large office centers. Several months ago, the update added navigation inside large shopping and entertainment complexes with all boutiques, cafes, restaurants and parking lots. And this is the only application that shows and routes public transport, including the subway, without the Internet, but there is no navigation inside the subway.
For comparison: the full map of Moscow and the region takes 134 MB, much less than the others. I can't say about Moscow, but their coverage of Chelyabinsk is much better than the rest.
I think this service is optimal if you live in Russia and often travel around the country, want to calmly navigate the terrain without needing a mobile Internet. You will always find the organization you need, find out the opening hours and how to find the entrance.
That's all for today. I did not specifically talk about positioning accuracy, since no application had any problems with this. Write in the comments what offline maps you use and why.
Have a nice day!