A compass app is used to show you the direction that your smartphone is pointing. Besides letting you know the direction, it also helps you detect the location and its elevation. However, certain countries may be where your elevation and coordinates are unavailable.
A compass app is useful in many ways. Exploring the physical properties with respect to the Earth of a location is an obvious thing you can do with this.
Besides, it can conveniently help you track your distance, route, direction, altitude, speed, etc. There may be instances when you may get lost somewhere on your trail. In such cases, a compass app can guide you in which direction to move.
How Does a Compass App Work?
A compass app uses a sensor that most smartphones usually have in them. This sensor is known as a magnetometer. This magnetometer measures the magnetic field of the Earth.
After this measurement, it aligns the magnetic north with the geographic north by using WMM (World Magnetic Model). All this helps it determine your direction and location concerning the Earth’s magnetic field.
The compass app shows the identified direction and location through the digital compass on your smartphone. The smartphone’s magnetometer gets support from the accelerometer sensors to let you know the directions you are facing.
Now let’s find out some good compass app options worth trying.
Compass°
Tim O’s Studios presents a simple yet functional compass app, Compass°, with a large display. This display clearly shows you the heading and directions in an easy-to-read format.
This iOS app uses your iPhone’s internal hardware to detect the direction. It is compatible with iOS devices having iOS 10.0 or above.
It works on:
- iOS
Compass ×
Compass × is a simple and fast compass app available for iOS devices. DOUBLE U s.r.o. has developed this application. If you want an alternative to your pre-installed compass app, this is worth trying option.
It shows GPS coordinates and altitude in meters or feet and works seamlessly on iPhones and iPads. It also lets you know the information about the temperature. The free version comes with ads; however, you can remove these ads through in-app purchases.
It works on:
- iOS
Compass ⊘
Compass ⊘ is a high-definition compass app with a simple yet beautiful interface. It is ideal for iPhones and iPads. It lets you determine your altitude, location, and orientation quickly with utmost accuracy. This application relies on the sensors of your devices.
This HD compass app can work best when you use it away from any solid electromagnetic source. It is free to use application that you can download from the App store.
It works on:
- iOS
Compass∞
Camera LLC presents Compass∞ as your best companion while you are navigating. It can accurately show you altitude, weather, and cardinal direction information. It is a reliable app for camping, hiking, trekking, backpacking, and other road trips.
Compass∞, besides detecting altitude, direction, etc., offers you several tools like a speedometer, voice option, flashlight, and more. It delivers compass reading in big letters so you can read the data clearly and easily. For best results, avoid using magnetic cases as they may cause interference.
It works on:
- iOS
Compass 55
Compass 55 is an ideal compass app for air, land, and marine navigation. It is an all-in-one solution with a compass, map, and GPS. It lets you know the altitude, sunrise/sunset, distance, top & average speed, and more.
Its waypoint editor lets you set a waypoint location and add audio notes or photos. It enables you to share your location through email, Facebook, message, Twitter, etc.
This app also supports Siri. Its voice coach can tell you about the active track distance, speed, duration, and altitude. It lets you download offline maps.
It works on:
- iOS
Compass Heading
Compass Heading is a simple app that is easy to use and read. It can show you the heading, magnetic north, and cardinal direction. This application supports you with a flashlight for usage at night. You can use this app for camping, hiking, road trips, and backpacking. It is also ideal for marine navigation.
Its accurate direction indicator makes sure you get reliable direction data. The background gets converted to red as the device aligns with the north.
It works on:
- iOS
The Best Compass
The Best Compass is a simple user interface app for iOS devices. It can provide realistic information about cardinal directions, GPS, and weather. Besides offering you the direction data, it also provides your angle and azimuth info.
It comes with a 7-day weather forecast feature. It lets you know about the quality of the air around you. Its Qibla features guide you best about where you need to turn.
It works on:
- iOS
Compass (Altimeter, Sunrise, S)
Compass (Altimeter, Sunrise, S) is a free app that does not contain ads and lets you identify the geographical north and altitude above sea level. It offers you information about sunrise and sunset time.
For computing altitude, it uses EGM96 as the geoid reference. With this, you can also determine the address of your current location. This Compass works best in the absence of magnetic perturbations.
It works on:
- Android
Compass
Download the Compass app from PixelProse SARL to detect accurate cardinal directions and GPS information. This app makes use of network location and GPS to deliver reliable results. It lets you know about the true altitude above the mean sea level.
This Compass supports multiple coordinate formats like DD, UTM, DMM, or DMS. It can show you the sunrise and sunset times along with latitude and longitude data. Here you can create a list of your favorite places and find the shortest paths to a place.
It works on:
- Android
Compass Maps
Compass Maps is a free application that shows you data related to the cardinal directions. It makes use of GPS technology to find out directions for you. It works on Android devices with sensors.
Compass Maps works with your map in real time and immediately shows changes in your location on the map. It shows you true north, magnetic field power, device slope angle, sensor state, latitude and longitude, and more. It also comes with tools that can calculate land area easily on maps.
It works on:
- Android
Compass by R. Apps
R. Apps’ Compass is your offline navigational assistant application that offers data about coordinates, addresses, magnetic north, etc. It can help you identify your exact current address and assist in navigating to a particular location.
This does not require an internet connection if you want to navigate to specific coordinates. It uses high-precision technology for relative angle measurement.
It works on:
- Android
Spyglass
Spyglass is an offline GPS and compass app for off-road navigation and outdoor use. It comes with multiple useful tools like binoculars, a hi-tech compass, offline maps, a heads-up display, a gyrocompass, a waypoint tracker, a speedometer, an altimeter, etc.
With this app, you can save your current location and app points on maps and manually add location coordinates. It has an optical range finder feature that lets you measure the real-time distance to the objects.
You can also track the Polaris, Sun, and Moon positions. Its digital Compass delivers accurate geographical data.
This application is available for Android as well as iOS smartphones.
It works on:
- iOS
- Android
Final Words
Whether you are lost on the trails, want to see the geo properties of your current location, or need an assistant tool for navigation, these compass apps can meet all your needs. Try any of these apps according to your device, and you will find them useful.
You may also want to explore the top hiking apps to help you during hiking and camping.