March 18, 2025
Version 2.8 now available.
Apple have today approved version 2.8 of the app.
New versions of the US Topo maps and 2.5 m/pixel imagery are now available
for AL, AR, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, LA, MA, ME, MS, MT, ND, NH, OR, PR, RI, SC,
VI, VT, WA and parts of AK. The app’s Maps screen has a new “Update” mode that
you can use to update any older versions of these maps that you have previously
downloaded to the newest versions. Read More here.
The app now includes a Safari extension that you can use to replace links to
other map (e.g. Google Maps, OpenStreetMap etc.) on web pages with links that
open this app. Read More here.
There are a number of other changes and bug fixes; full release notes
are here.
February 6, 2025
Version 2.7 now available.
Apple have today approved version 2.7 of the app.
This update adds basic support for the Apple Watch. This doesn’t show a map
on the watch; rather, it mirrors data including speed, elevation, climb etc.
from the iPhone app to the watch display. If you have an Apple Watch we’d
love to hear what functionality you would like to see in future; please get
in touch. Read More here.
Other changes in this version include:
- The Settings screen has been reorganized into a number of subsections.
- When the app runs on a Mac in “Designed for iPad” mode a zoom control is shown in the corner of the window, making it possible to navigate with only a mouse.
- A statistics section is now shown at the bottom of the Maps screen, indicating how many maps of each type are installed and how much storage they are occupying.
Full release notes are here.
December 2, 2024
Version 2.6 now available.
Apple have today approved version 2.6 of the app.
This update adds some new features and fixes bugs. In particular it
fixes a bug that could cause a track or route’s points to be lost when
its metadata was modified; upgrading is highly recommended.
The new features include:
- The search box now accepts coordinates.
- You can now prevent the app from sleeping, either unconditionally or only when external power is applied. This could be useful if you have your device in a vehicle mount, or similar.
- A “long touch” on the app’s icon on your home screen will now offer three shortcuts: you can launch the app showing your current location, start a track recording, or search.
- The search screen now remembers your recent searches.
- You can now add web links to waypoints, routes, tracks and GPX files.
- The app now has app icon variants for Dark and Tinted modes.
Full release notes are here.
November 1, 2024
Version 2.5 now available.
Apple have today approved version 2.5 of the app.
This update adds US Forest Service maps to the app. These are available for
about 10,000 quads that include Forest Service lands. There are two variants,
a “legacy” product that ceased being updated in 2023 and new maps that have
seem to have been produced in a more automated process (like the US Topo maps).
Note that by default the app will prefer the USGS maps if you download both
for the same area; in this case, in order to see the Forest Service maps
you will need to create a map mode that prefers them.
The app now offers a choice for how hybrid maps are made by blending topos
with imagery, and has increased the number of maps that you can download at once.
Full release notes are here.
October 9, 2024
Version 2.4 now available.
Apple have today approved version 2.4 of the app.
You can now add labels to panoramas, to identify summits and other features
that are visible. Also in the panorama options you can now choose whether
and how the panorama silhouette is shown over photos, including a “High Contrast”
mode.
In Location Options, you can now choose whether your location is shown by a blue
spot, as before, or by an arrow indicating the direction in which you are facing.
Full release notes are here.
August 30, 2024
Request for Photos.
Do you have any photos of good mountain views, taken with your iPhone,
that you could share with me?
In the last update I added features that combine photos with the app’s
panorama function. The ultimate objective is to be able to annotate your
photos with the names of the peaks, and other features, that are visible
in them.
But to test this I need a good collection of mountain view photos, taken
with an iPhone and containing geolocation data, and I must confess that
most of my photos have been taken using a Canon DSLR! Would you mind
sending me some of your mountain view photos, taken with your iPhone?
They can be from anywhere covered by the app, ideally just mountain views
with little foreground distraction, i.e. not selfies.
Please send them by email. I won’t share them
with anyone else, unless you tell me that you would be happy for them to
be used on this website, in which case I may use them as examples in the
documentation.
Thanks in advance!
August 29, 2024
Version 2.3 now available.
Apple have today approved version 2.3 of the app.
I’m releasing this update now because it includes a fix for the inverted maps
issue described below. If you were seeing inverted map tiles for maps shared
with the old app when zoomed in, please confirm that this is now fixed.
The new features in this update are related to panoramas: you can now attach
photos to panoramas and export them as JPEG images. When using the compass with
panoramas, a new “Full Rotation” mode rotates the panorama around all three
axes. Note that some of this needs more work, for example the layout of the
panorama screen’s buttons on the iPhone; I’ve released it now because of the
bug fix but there will more more updates later.
Full release notes are here.
August 25, 2024
Inverted maps in version 2.2
A few users have been in touch to report that version 2.2 is flipping maps
vertically. Specifically this affects maps shared from the old app, when you
zoom in to the most detailed zoom level.
I have now identified the cause of the problem and it will be resolved in
the next update. In the meantime note that it does not affect maps that you
downloaded in the new app, so you can work-around it by downloading new maps
in the areas that you currently need.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
August 25, 2024
Last Beta will expire soon
This is a message for anyone who is still using a beta-test version of Topo Maps 2.
The last beta test version, build 25261, will expire 90 days after it was released,
which I estimate to be around September 10. I don’t know if it will give you any
warning when this is about to happen; assume not.
If you want to continue using the app, please install the App Store version before
this happens.
August 16, 2024
Version 2.2 now available.
Apple have today approved version 2.2 of the app.
This update builds on the features added in version 2.1 to add photos to waypoints,
tracks and routes. It’s now possible to add multiple photos to each item and photos
can also be added to GPX files. The photos can now also be links to photos on the
internet, or you can embed them within the GPX files.
There are also new View In options to support Google Earth and Bing Maps.
Full release notes are here.
Your feedback on these new features, or anything else, would be very much appreciated.
July 11, 2024
Version 2.1 now available.
Apple have today approved version 2.1 of the app.
The main new features in this app are the ability to link photos to waypoints,
tracks and routes, and a compass button in the panorama silhouette window.
Full release notes are here.
Please let me know what you think I should work on next - are there more
features that you need, or should I be more focused on ease of use, or
reliability? Or should I be writing more documentation? Every bit of feedback
is very much appreciated.
June 16, 2024
Topo Maps 2 is Released!
After a long gestation, Topo Maps 2 is finally available! I hope that you
like the results.
Many thanks to the more than 700 people who tried the beta version, and
especially to those of you who shared your feedback.
The long road to Topo Maps 2 started almost five years ago when I began
building the new map viewer core, supporting both 2D and 3D maps.
In 2023 I released a map app for New Zealand using this new core, and
then moved on to this app. I’m not stopping here, though; there will
be updates with more features. Tell me what I should work on first!