7 ms·

I wish we could get app developers to stop going online for every piece of content. Even my Tesla GPS map refuses to cache tiles it already has, so when connec

I wish we could get app developers to stop going online for every piece of content. Even my Tesla GPS map refuses to cache tiles it already has, so when connectivity goes down, my maps are blank. Or streaming media apps (like Peacock & Kanopy) reloading the previous screen from the server instead of keeping the rendered media list object resident. 95% of the content is already on the device, let's please encourage it's use. Dirty writes can be handled easily just mark the UI dirty until the write succeeds. My point is that we could easily fix 95% of the offline challenges with no major changes to the app design -- just better habits.

themafia 1y ago
We solved a ton of issues by ensuring Cache-Control was being correctly used on API responses and that our application network layer respected them. The advantage is we can change our mind about cache lifetimes on the server side and no app update is required to start using them.
- tonymet 1y ago
  I love hearing about easy wins like this. very true on Android and iOS the Data Access Objects will handle content invalidation quite magically when used properly.
m463 1y ago
> no major changes to the app design I'm pretty convinced they just want more data. for example, apple allows offline maps, but they expire the data because they want you dependent on them. I'm pretty sure the tesla (google) tile data has hidden motives.
- tonymet 1y ago
  I've also wondered. Having worked on similar apps, I think it's usually due to a bug where data is inconsistent , someone important complains, so the devs just invalidate all data to prevent the bug ever happening again. Inconsistent/stale data is more evident during testing than the caching issues (testers are usually using stable office wifi)
  - materielle 1y ago
    It doesn’t even have to be a bug. Having some rule like “invalidate all data older than 6 months” makes it easier to reason about and test for backwards compatibility. I’m sure the data format of Apple Maps is constantly changing to support new features and optimizations.
    - m463 1y ago
      apple maps data expires after 30 days. if you create offline maps for some vacation away from reliable cellphone service, when 30 days passes the (gigabytes of) maps just disappear. Unusable even if you are in a remote village.
pkaye 1y ago
Google maps (on my Android) actually has offline maps for a while now but you have to manually select the region. And you can cache multiple regions at once. I've used it in the past when driving to national parks and remote areas with no phone network in some spots.
- Archelaos 1y ago
  I can recommend organic maps: https://organicmaps.app https://organicmaps.app The quality of the maps depends on the region, though. But for me it is typically good enough. I not only like the local maps, but also that I can save waypoints locally. And I can contribute things like points of interest to Open Street Map directly via the app. In my opinion, the biggest disadvantage is that there is no traffic information.
  - pabs3 1y ago
    Might be better to switch to the CoMaps fork: https://www.comaps.app/news/2025-07-03/Announcing-Navigate-with-Privacy-Discover-more-of-your-journey/ https://www.comaps.app/news/2025-07-03/Announcing-Navigate-w...
    - mcv 1y ago
      Interestingly, f-droid doesn't initially show CoMaps but does show Organic Maps because apparently CoMaps doesn't pass an antifeature filter for depending on a tethered service on codeberg. I don't quite understand why this is an issue; they both need to download their maps from somewhere, don't they?
    - Ostrogoth 1y ago
      Thanks for recommending. I was not aware that a fork of Organic Maps had been created, or that longtime contributors to OM had concerns about the project.
  - Ostrogoth 1y ago
    Another vote for Organic Maps. I use it as a lightweight maps app for backcountry or traveling in foreign countries where I don’t have a sim card. You can also record tracks in the app, or import .gpx files. In airplane mode it has low impact on battery consumption. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out iOS Star Chart app (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/star-chart/id345542655 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/star-chart/id345542655) functions entirely offline. Recently used it while camping, and it just needed a GPS coordinates fix to adjust sky map to location.
mcv 1y ago
This is the big reason why I prefer OSM apps. They all download the maps, and your map will work regardless of connectivity.

themafia 1y ago

We solved a ton of issues by ensuring Cache-Control was being correctly used on API responses and that our application network layer respected them. The advantage is we can change our mind about cache lifetimes on the server side and no app update is required to start using them.

tonymet 1y ago
I love hearing about easy wins like this. very true on Android and iOS the Data Access Objects will handle content invalidation quite magically when used properly.

m463 1y ago

> no major changes to the app design I'm pretty convinced they just want more data. for example, apple allows offline maps, but they expire the data because they want you dependent on them. I'm pretty sure the tesla (google) tile data has hidden motives.

tonymet 1y ago
I've also wondered. Having worked on similar apps, I think it's usually due to a bug where data is inconsistent , someone important complains, so the devs just invalidate all data to prevent the bug ever happening again. Inconsistent/stale data is more evident during testing than the caching issues (testers are usually using stable office wifi)
- materielle 1y ago
  It doesn’t even have to be a bug. Having some rule like “invalidate all data older than 6 months” makes it easier to reason about and test for backwards compatibility. I’m sure the data format of Apple Maps is constantly changing to support new features and optimizations.
  - m463 1y ago
    apple maps data expires after 30 days. if you create offline maps for some vacation away from reliable cellphone service, when 30 days passes the (gigabytes of) maps just disappear. Unusable even if you are in a remote village.

pkaye 1y ago

Google maps (on my Android) actually has offline maps for a while now but you have to manually select the region. And you can cache multiple regions at once. I've used it in the past when driving to national parks and remote areas with no phone network in some spots.

Archelaos 1y ago
I can recommend organic maps: https://organicmaps.app https://organicmaps.app The quality of the maps depends on the region, though. But for me it is typically good enough. I not only like the local maps, but also that I can save waypoints locally. And I can contribute things like points of interest to Open Street Map directly via the app. In my opinion, the biggest disadvantage is that there is no traffic information.
- pabs3 1y ago
  Might be better to switch to the CoMaps fork: https://www.comaps.app/news/2025-07-03/Announcing-Navigate-with-Privacy-Discover-more-of-your-journey/ https://www.comaps.app/news/2025-07-03/Announcing-Navigate-w...
  - mcv 1y ago
    Interestingly, f-droid doesn't initially show CoMaps but does show Organic Maps because apparently CoMaps doesn't pass an antifeature filter for depending on a tethered service on codeberg. I don't quite understand why this is an issue; they both need to download their maps from somewhere, don't they?
  - Ostrogoth 1y ago
    Thanks for recommending. I was not aware that a fork of Organic Maps had been created, or that longtime contributors to OM had concerns about the project.
- Ostrogoth 1y ago
  Another vote for Organic Maps. I use it as a lightweight maps app for backcountry or traveling in foreign countries where I don’t have a sim card. You can also record tracks in the app, or import .gpx files. In airplane mode it has low impact on battery consumption. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out iOS Star Chart app (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/star-chart/id345542655 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/star-chart/id345542655) functions entirely offline. Recently used it while camping, and it just needed a GPS coordinates fix to adjust sky map to location.

mcv 1y ago

This is the big reason why I prefer OSM apps. They all download the maps, and your map will work regardless of connectivity.