OS Maps app gets 'Glow-up'
The biggest change to UK's most popular navigation app in years.
OS has unveiled its new-look OS Maps app to the public for the first time.
Britain’s biggest navigational app has undergone a complete makeover, with a fresh new design making it clearer and easier to use.
Navigation around the app has been improved. A home tab has been introduced to give app users a new starting point for their outdoor adventures. This provides greater personalisation, where users can access route recommendations based on their preferences and location. It will also allow quick and easy access to tool tips to help them get the most out all the mapping and navigation features in OS Maps.
A new menu bar has also been introduced along the bottom of the screen which allows access to all the app’s features and content in just a few taps.
A light and dark mode option has also been introduced, along with updates to colour and fonts keep OS Maps up to date and aligned with accessibility standards.
It is the most significant improvements to the app since OS first launched it in 2016 and the changes have gone down well with thousands of existing users of OS Maps in testing.
Comments from customers include “I love the new version - so much more intuitive and easier to use. Look forward to seeing more improvements. This is definitely the best out there!” and “What can you say about OS maps. It just keeps getting better and better. Wouldn’t be without it.”
OS's Managing Director for Leisure, Nick Giles, said: "This is the biggest change that has been made to OS Maps full stop. The design, navigation and user experience are the biggest changes we have ever done. People really like the new design. Visually it’s a big change and one that helps to make the whole app experience better for our users.
“People really like the new home tab and the route suggestions because having that addition makes it quicker to access the things they want.
We’ve had some brilliant comments about the general improvement of the app. It’s a lot smoother, downloading the maps is a lot faster, and the app is more reliable."
"OS Maps has been the go-to app for people who love the outdoors in Britain for so long. But we recognise there are huge numbers of more casual lovers of the outdoors out there too. We’ve tried to make OS Maps app as welcoming as we possibly can for everyone, as we want to continue with our mission to help more people get outside more often and let them discover how great the British outdoors and getting outside is."
OS Maps app fact file:
- Britain’s most popular outdoor navigation app
- Has around half a million active subscribers
- Third biggest outdoor navigation app in the world
- Has over five million users
- Has subscribers in 78 different countries around the world
- 6 million routes have been shared on the app
- Total distance of routes shared on the app is 478 million kilometres (enough to reach Mars and back!)
Explore OS Maps
You can share your walking, cycling or running routes in Great Britain by downloading the OS Maps App on your phone, PC or laptop
Sharing the latest news about OS. We can license you to use OS maps in print, online and film format. For more information and resources for journalists, bloggers and media professionals, email pressoffice@os.uk or call 023 8005 5565.