Mapy.com got a great feature for tourists. We tried it directly in the Alps

The popular map service Mapy.com (formerly Mapy.cz) received the HorizontAR feature a few days ago. It is available as part of the premium plan for 249 Kč and will especially please tourists, allowing them to point their phone at peaks in view and learn their name and altitude in augmented reality mode. We tried the new feature directly in the Austrian Alps.

AR has had its moment of glory, yet HorizontAR has a chance

While the boom of augmented reality (AR) within mobile apps and games is several years behind us, HorizonAR certainly isn’t a feature doomed to fall into oblivion from the very beginning. On the contrary, it was a relatively sought-after gadget by users. Even relatives with whom we go hiking in the mountains every summer were enthusiastic about it. So, next time we argue about whether we’ve visited the peak we’re currently looking at in previous years, Mapy.com will quickly reveal who was right.

How does HorizontAR work?

To use the HorizontAR feature, you essentially need four things. Besides successfully detected location and a subscription, you need an internet connection, without which identification unfortunately won’t work, and last but not least, you must grant the application access to your phone’s camera.

Once you do that, just point your smartphone at the horizon and wait a moment. After a short while, Mapy.com will automatically recognize the peaks on the horizon and display their names and altitude in meters in small bubbles.

At first glance, calibration might be a bit unclear. The peaks will align correctly on their own when you launch HorizontAR in augmented reality, but with subsequent device movements, you need to move the white outlines of the mountains and hills so that they match the image of the peaks from the camera. Simply drag it with your finger to the correct position (or you can calibrate by pinching and rotating with two fingers). The arrow button in the corner of the screen is used for a complete calibration reset.

HorizontAR or PeakFinder Lite

The new HorizontAR feature is very likely inspired by the PeakFinder app, which can be purchased on the Google Play Store for 129.99 Kč. It has been on the scene for many years and has accumulated over half a million downloads on Android devices and an excellent rating of 4.7/5 based on over 13 thousand reviews during its existence.

PeakFinder

Fabio Soldati

Download (4,69 €)

Google Play

PeakFinder has the advantage over HorizontAR in Mapy.com that it works worldwide and offline. This means identification will work even in areas without signal. However, the overall range of features is richer – according to the official description, for example, it offers the option to mark favorite peaks, displays the sun and moon paths with rise and set times, and has a feature for flying from peak to peak.

We can be grateful for HorizontAR

Is it a problem that HorizontAR in Mapy.com feels like a lightweight version of PeakFinder with minimal features? Not at all.

For tourists who enjoy using the map application from Czech Seznam, it’s a handy gadget that users of competing Google Maps or Apple Maps can only dream of. Moreover, HorizontAR performs what is expected of it excellently, and if someone still wanted a slightly more advanced tool for identifying peaks, a small investment in PeakFinder won’t break their bank account.

The developers of Mapy.com definitely get a thumbs up from me, and I hope that features for tourists and outdoor athletes in general will only increase. It’s just a shame that similar new features are not available to all users and are instead automatically locked behind the Premium subscription.

How do you like the HorizontAR feature?