After being pulled from Apple’s iOS App Store in 2013, Nokia’s HERE maps app is finally available for download today.
The app offers users the ability to cache their maps offline for use in an area where there is no internet connection. Nokia also provides its users with detailed traffic information, public transit data, and much more.
“HERE for iOS is a completely different app from the one previously available on the App Store – because the old version was based on HTML5, it had limited features and it wasn’t optimized for iOS. This time we’re introducing an experience built for iOS from the ground up with the features and the polished feel that people rightly expect from their favourite map app.”
Nokia followed up on their promise to bring HERE maps back to iOS sometime in 2015, officially launching a refreshed version of the maps and navigation app today. The company says that they redesigned the app from the ground up, with code optimizations specifically for Apple’s mobile operating system.
“With HERE for iOS you can store maps on your phone so that they’re always available and you don’t have to wait for them to load or be dependent on signal. They’re not just highly reliable when you’re in your area but they’re particularly useful when travelling to avoid roaming charges.
You can save maps to your phone so that the whole HERE app can be put into ‘offline mode’ and it won’t use any data. Even if your iPhone is in flight mode, you can still see where you are, search for places and navigate there on foot, by public transport or by car.”
Unlike many of Nokia’s competitors like Apple Maps and Google Maps, HERE lets users save map data from 100 countries directly to their device for offline use. The offline caching features can provide a faster in-app experience and its a good way to save on roaming costs when travelling abroad.
Nokia has also incorporated other popular features into its app, including voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation, real-time traffic information in 40 countries, and a view for quickly comparing driving, walking, and public transportation routes. The relaunched service also supports cross-device syncing, meaning that users can save a point of interest on their iPhone and retrieve the information on their iPad.
Nokia’s HERE maps app for iOS is available as a free download from the App Store. The app requires any device running iOS 7 or later and has been optimized for the iPhone 5, 6, and 6 Plus.
[via Nokia’s HERE 360 Blog]
