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A camera that knows the next turn

· 3 min read
Massimo Di Stefano
Massimo Di Stefano
FastGIS author

The turn-by-turn map used to hold a single zoom from start to finish. On a bicycle in Bergen that meant a view too far out to read the next junction, and after a glance ahead the map stayed where you left it until you tapped recenter. On the phone, and on CarPlay and Android Auto, the navigation camera now works it out for itself.

Zoom by speed, closer for the turn​

The zoom follows your speed on a curve set per vehicle: further out on the motorway, closer in town, and closer still on a bicycle, which now sits a full level nearer than before. When a real turn comes up, the camera zooms in and lays the map flat, so the turn arrow drawn on the route reads like a plan. It does the same when you slow right down, when you stop, and at your destination. A plain "continue" is not a turn and moves nothing.

It returns to the riding view only once the turn is behind you, the next one is still far away, and you have held your speed for a few seconds. A cyclist hovering around one speed, or a car in stop-and-go traffic, does not set the map pumping in and out.

3D stays your choice​

Navigation still opens flat. If you switch to 3D, the camera flattens for each turn and tilts back afterwards, on every vehicle including the bicycle. It never tilts to 3D on its own. The + and − buttons now nudge the automatic zoom instead of replacing it, and recenter clears the nudge. The 3D angle is also the same on every map now; the Navigate tab and free rides used a steeper one.

Back to you after a look around​

Pan the map to look ahead and, once you are moving, it comes back to you 8 seconds after your last touch. While you are stopped it waits, so you can study the map at a junction. The car screen now does the same, sooner than its old 12 seconds.

The same rules on the car screen​

The CarPlay and Android Auto map runs exactly the same rules. The only difference is scale: a smaller head unit sits a little further out, by the same factor that already sizes its vehicle marker. The companion's zoom buttons nudge the car's automatic zoom the way + and − do on the phone.

Switch the automation off under Settings → Navigation → Auto zoom & tilt. Walking routes keep a flat, fixed map unless you also turn on Also when walking. The speeds and zoom levels are starting values; the next step is tuning them from real rides on a bicycle and a motorcycle.