Quick note: as mentioned before, there is a compatibility issue with the new version of Mapbox, so old offline data will be invalidated.
Now supporting Apple Maps and the return of Google Maps
Apple Maps is now the default. When using Google Maps, Google StreetView is (re)integrated into EasyRoute as it had been before I switched away from it. (Personally, I missed having it integrated.) Each map has its strengths depending on what you’re looking at or where you’re looking.
Since Mapbox and Google are 3rd-party maps, they can run up costs when usage gets high enough so enabling them requires a subscription. In fact, the reason I switched from Google maps is that it wasn’t sustainable with a one-time purchase and I really didn’t want to put the app behind a paywall. A number of things have changed since then enabling me to use Apple as the default map and making the other maps optional with a subscription.
If you’ve previously bought the Premium in-app purchase, Mapbox is available to you as well since it was the default map when you made the purchase.
Cost Breakdown
Existing Premium Users
You continue to get everything you paid the one-time price for. Apple Maps is the default, but Mapbox is still available since that was the default map when the Premium in-app purchase was available.
New and Free Users
Apple Maps will be the default map. It’s free to me so it’s free to you.
Subscribers
Subscribers will get all features and all maps. Offline usage is tied to Mapbox so that feature will only be available with a subscription (or if you are an existing premium user). Integrated Street View is tied to Google Maps, so that will only be available through a subscription too.
Subscription Tiers
- $4.99 annually
- $1.99 quarterly
- $0.99 monthly
No More Ad Tracking
I introduced the advertisement along with the switch to Mapbox because while Mapbox was far more affordable than Google, it still wasn’t free. Every now and then, EasyRoute gets a nice mention somewhere which causes a spike in usage, so the thinking was a spike in costs could be offset by a spike in ad revenue.
Since this is no longer an issue, there is no longer a 3rd-party ad. So I’m happy to say EasyRoute does no ad tracking. Please see the privacy policy for more information.
The banner ad has been replaced by a reminder that you can enjoy more maps with a subscription.
Other Odds and Ends
With this out of the way, I expect to get back to implementing suggestions and features on a more regular basis. In fact, Apple held up this release for a while (removing the ad tracking caused some confusion with App Review that took a few rounds of back-and-forth to square away, but that’s another story) so in the meantime I already fixed a bug and started on a new feature. So there are more releases coming down the pipe soon.
There are a number of little bug fixes and improvements that got tangled up into these bigger changes. I typically like to make more frequent releases with smaller changes rather than one big one, but the map changes snowballed, and I swept up a number of other minor bugs and did some other cleanup as I was going along. That being said, I’m a little more nervous about this release despite getting it lots of great feedback during from a longer-than-usual beta period. Please feel free to contact me with feedback or bug reports.
