Wear OS Support

[morosa]

Dear friends
I am totally surprised by the capabilities of the app, with its lightness. If I hadn't purchased the watch, I would probably never have used this app. I managed to install your software on the TicWatch 5 pro (Wear OS 3.5 / defacto Android 11), thanks to the instructions of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejrmH-JEeE0. And I have to say that Offline Maps works great! Gps works, syncing with BBrouter works and most importantly the whole app is very responsive - no crashes, no lags. However, as I mentioned the app is not tailored for use and is hard to use, without hacks (such as changing the density in Wear OS).

Before I go on to describe what could be changed, let me write why you should think about adapting your map to Wear OS:
- many people want to stop using smartphones on the go, as they are distracting with their functions and energy-intensive
- there is a lack of watch apps with advanced map functions
- many offline maps are paid, but above all not very responsive
- there are many gps apps for phone, but very few for Wear OS
- there is a lot of competition for apps on the phone and such software that has an unusual user experience will always lose out to the bigger players, so developing on Wear OS could create a new niche for this software

What would need to be done to make Offline Maps work on the watch:
- * rebuild the interface to a smaller screen, so that there are no options/buttons in the edges (the resolution of the watch is small, and most have a round screen)
- * center all menus and make them smaller.
- * add another option to undo/exit menus (it's good that undo is blocked on the watch via the default gesture as the screen is small, but you would need to find another way to do this as sometimes the software locks in certain settings)
- * adjusting zoom in and out for the small screen
- adding editable vibration notifications
- hiding the information that is on the top left, which on the watch is more of a hindrance than a help
- rebuilding explorer mode for a smaller interface
- in order to use night mode, you have to play with the map styling, which is not intuitive, so maybe this needs to be improved
- possibly the interface display mode on the watch should work the other way round, i.e. show an empty map without menus and information by default

* the most important tasks are marked with an asterisk

Best regards,
Kamil

[MMIndustries]

I'd like to second this request. I have spent a lot of time looking for a decent offline map app to use on my watch. This could be the exact app I need. My suggestion though is to not try and cram all the features of the app onto the watch face. My suggestion is to create something of a companion app to run on the watch with the basic features but that can pull it's map data and configuration from the phone. I would basically just like an easy-to-view wrist map of the current location with the same maps and placemarks at the main app.

[morosa]

I'd like to second this request. I have spent a lot of time looking for a decent offline map app to use on my watch. This could be the exact app I need. My suggestion though is to not try and cram all the features of the app onto the watch face. My suggestion is to create something of a companion app to run on the watch with the basic features but that can pull it's map data and configuration from the phone. I would basically just like an easy-to-view wrist map of the current location with the same maps and placemarks at the main app.

but the kind of apps you are talking about are already there.

I would only suggest a subtle refinement of the menu items for small round screens.

[Psyberia-Support]

Hi and sorry for the delay.
Yes of course it would be great to improve the UI for smartwatches.
It has been requested for a long time (just like better supporting large screen and other devices), unfortunately I still haven't found the time yet.
At some point in the future I should find some time for this, but I get so much requests that unfortunately I have no idea if and when...