ApexGPS

Rene Duttra

About this app

ApexGPS is a free Android hiking app for people who want the essentials of a good GPS navigator without ads, subscription, or the need to sign up. Offline maps, GPX, waypoints, track recording, track guidance with off-route alerts, route planning, and per-point weather — all data stays on your device.

LANGUAGES
• English, Deutsch, Français, Español, Polski, and ةيبرعلا (Arabic) — with full right-to-left layout for Arabic
• Switch any time in Settings → Appearance → Language
• Built-in user guide translated into all six languages

MAPS
• ESRI Topo (default), OpenTopoMap (contour lines), OpenStreetMap Standard
• ESRI World Imagery (satellite), ESRI Hillshade (shaded relief)
• Thunderforest Outdoors — contours + hiking-difficulty shading (free API key)
• Switch styles with the Layers button; your choice is remembered

OFFLINE
• Tiles cache automatically as you browse, ready for airplane mode
• Download a full region: frame the area, pick a zoom range, hit Download — runs in the background
• Cache size adjustable (250 MB – 2 GB); saved regions survive cache cleanups

GPX IMPORT & EXPORT
• Open .gpx files from your file manager, or share them in from WhatsApp, Gmail, Drive, or any app
• Multi-file select for bulk import

TRACK RECORDING
• Foreground service captures GPS while you hike — survives screen-off and app restarts
• True mean-sea-level elevation (bundled global geoid correction)

TRACK GUIDANCE
• Follow any track — saved, imported, or planned — with off-route alerts that beep and vibrate, even with the screen off
• A live strip shows distance remaining and how far off-route you've drifted; chevrons along the route and a destination flag point the way; reverse direction any time
• Back to start: one tap guides you home — retrace your exact path, or head straight back

TRACK PLANNING
• Sketch a route by tapping the map — drop numbered vertices, drag to adjust, insert midpoints
• Fetch the route's elevation profile from a worldwide DEM with one tap

WAYPOINTS
• Add by long-pressing the map, entering coordinates, or via GPX import
• 32 OSM-aligned symbols, 16 colours; long-press and drag to relocate
• Auto-fetch elevation from a worldwide DEM; re-imported duplicates are deduplicated

WEATHER
• Per-waypoint hourly forecast for the next 7 days (Open-Meteo, no API key)
• Current conditions, pressure + humidity charts, sunrise / sunset / UV index
• Fully localized: units, condition labels, and time-of-day follow your phone's language

NAVIGATION & SHARING
• Tap any waypoint to navigate: dotted line, live distance + bearing, auto-stop on arrival
• Full-screen compass mode for hands-free navigation
• Send your live location as a one-tap link — opens in ApexGPS, web map preview for everyone else

DISTANCE MEASUREMENT
• Tap to drop vertices, drag to refine, insert midpoints — total distance shown live

MAP CONTROLS
• Two-finger twist to rotate; follow-me keeps the screen on while tracking
• Live stats bar: speed, elevation, distance

DEMO
• First launch loads a real Watzmann Traverse recording (Berchtesgaden) — 22.6 km loop, +2250 m — plus three landmark waypoints, so you can explore before recording your own hike

BACKUP & RESTORE
• Export all tracks, waypoints, saved map regions, and settings to a ZIP — share via any app
• Restore on another phone with Merge (deduplicates) or Replace

PRIVACY
• All data stays on your device; location is never uploaded anywhere
• Map tiles fetched from public providers (OpenStreetMap, ESRI, Thunderforest) over anonymous HTTPS
• No analytics, no tracking, no ad SDKs

REQUIREMENTS
• Android 8.0 or higher
• Location permission (optional — only for follow-me / recording)
• No account, no sign-up

Made in the UAE. Feedback welcome at [e-mail].

What’s new

Compatibility update:
• ApexGPS is now built for Android 16. Nothing changes in how the app works — this keeps it fully supported on the newest Android release and on future devices.