Maps on WatchOS
Shares rank 7 of 12 navigation apps by recommenders
People recommend it for its pleasant display, offline maps and daily step counts. The main caveat is a subscription that some find unclear and unwelcome.
People recommend it for its pleasant display, offline maps and daily step counts. The main caveat is a subscription that some find unclear and unwelcome.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Developer effort and polish
“The monthly and yearly subscriptions are fine, and merited given the time and effort that went into this product”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “Six Years Perfecting Maps on WatchOS” “the third-party developer has produced exactly the wonderful result they're looking for”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “Six Years Perfecting Maps on WatchOS”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Subscription gating unclear or unwelcome
“it wasn’t clear to me which features are subscription gated and which ones aren’t”
Comment from 2 May 2026 in “Six Years Perfecting Maps on WatchOS” “And it's a f:ing subscription delete”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “Six Years Perfecting Maps on WatchOS”
Other navigation apps people recommend
The four most recommended other navigation apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Maps | 272 | 479 | 36% | 12 | 14 yrs4 owners | — |
| Apple Maps | 145 | 206 | 41% | 12 | 9 yrs5 owners | — |
| Waze | 27 | 19 | 59% | 10 | — | — |
| MapQuest | 16 | 14 | 53% | 7 | — | — |
| Maps on WatchOSThis page | 7 | 2 | 78% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The monthly and yearly subscriptions are fine, and merited given the time and effort that went into this product”
“Maps has really come a long way since the icon depicted a route driving off a bridge.”
“the third-party developer has produced exactly the wonderful result they're looking for”
“it's a simple utility to show the daily step counts Apple is already collecting anyway, oh and by the way it has awesome offline maps”
“I've been using it for many years just because its display is pleasant.”
“And it's a f:ing subscription delete”
“I can’t see the maps without stopping to turn it off”
“it wasn’t clear to me which features are subscription gated and which ones aren’t”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.