RwGPS’ QuickNav simplifies routing for cyclists

RwGPS has a major new feature that essentially transforms how its smartphone app works, making it very much like a car SatNav or an enhanced version of Google/Apple Maps. The core routing/re-routing is similar to those navigation behemoths but RwGPS has made the experience cycle-friendly both in the ease and clarity of routing as well as in how the route information is presented and updated.

I can’t see RwGPS ever being able to port this feature across to the main bike computers which have their equivalent features in any case. So the target market here is very squarely on people who take new routes and who use a smartphone for cycling navigation. That’s a decent chunk of people…I’m just not sure how huge a market it represents.

Anyway, this feature looks great and if I used a smartphone for cycling (which I don’t) then I would probably use it

It’s available now

QuickNav – More Details

QuickNav is the new easy-to-use, one-step navigation tool in the Ride with GPS mobile app. Whether you’re going to work, school, meetings, errands, or the grocery store down the street, short trips across town are now much easier. Enter your destination and QuickNav will take you to your destination via bike-friendly, low-traffic roads and established bike routes. This simple yet powerful tool elevates the Ride with GPS mobile app to a category of its own: a single app that covers all your cycling navigation needs, from complex backcountry tours to short trips across town.

Open QuickNav by clicking on the Record button at the bottom of your home screen. Use the search bar to enter your destination, address, or location, or just press and hold anywhere on the map. QuickNav will then guide you to your destination, providing you with mileage, elevation profile, and estimated travel time. Tap “Start Ride” and you’re on your way with turn-by-turn directions and personalized real-time ETAs. Tapping on the search bar will also give you the option to route to an existing route from your library or directly to your home location.

With your home location set, QuickNav makes getting home incredibly easy. Wherever you are, simply tap on the search bar, select your home location, and QuickNav will automatically generate a bike-friendly beeline to your home. Whether you’re at the bike shop, bar, birthday party, beach, or basketball court, getting home is now just a tap away.

Just press and hold anywhere on the map to set the destination and QuickNav takes care of the rest in a hassle-free way. No address or details are required. Simply press and hold on any location, landmark, business, or intersection you see on the map and you will be routed directly there by the most bike-friendly means possible.

QuickNav gives you the freedom to roam with automatic rerouting. If you deviate from the route, QuickNav will simply update the route from your current position and your ETA. This enables an entirely new level of flexible wayfinding without any more “off course” warnings, as QuickNav will always correct the route from your current location.

Sometimes plans change. You can update your destination in real-time by either using the search bar or pressing and holding anywhere within your map viewport. Both methods will update your destination with a new endpoint and generate a new route, saving all of your current progress up to that point. You will never lose any of your activity progress or accidentally split your ride into two separate entries. QuickNav rolls them up intuitively as if they were ridden as one single activity.

In addition, QuickNav users on iOS (iPhone) will have access to Apple’s Live Activity display, which provides navigation and recording data above the iPhone’s lock screen. This makes multitasking easier and more efficient by providing navigation cues directly on your iPhone’s lock screen. Apple Watch users will have the added benefit of QuickNav directional cues through the Ride with GPS companion app for Apple Watch. In both cases, this includes metrics such as estimated completion time, speed, mileage, distance, and a host of other interchangeable data points to keep your trips on track.