GPX Viewer PRO: Hike & Bike

Review by eFreeware

If you already collect route files, GPX Viewer PRO is the sort of app you would want on your phone. It is built for people who download or record GPX, KML, KMZ and LOC files and want to open, inspect and follow them on a map, rather than for someone looking for a general-purpose map app. Hikers, cyclists, mountain bikers, trail runners and travelers who plan routes ahead of a trip are the obvious audience.

What the app gives them is a single place to view those files, see trip statistics and charts, and navigate with a live GPS position. The developer, Vectura Games OÜ, sells it for $8.99 as a paid download with no ads, and it also offers in-app purchases. It has been on Google Play since August 2017 and now sits at a 4.6 average from 9,528 ratings, with more than 100,000 installs.

I'd treat it as a working tool rather than a casual viewer. That focus is what makes the app interesting, and also what defines its limits.

Opening and managing route files

The core of the app is file handling. It reads GPX, KML, KMZ and LOC files, covering the formats most route-sharing sites and GPS devices produce. A built-in file browser handles multiple files and keeps favorites and history, which matters once you have a folder of routes from different trips.

GPZ and KMZ archives hold GPX and KML files. That is a small feature, but a useful one if you keep a lot of tracks and want them stored more compactly. Track and route colors can be customized, and tracks can be colorized by elevation, speed or sensor data, which turns a plain line on the map into something you can read at a glance.

For anyone who downloads routes from other people or exports them from a watch or bike computer, this is the part that decides whether the app fits. The file browser and archive support suggest the developer expects users to accumulate a library of routes rather than open one file and close it again.

Track analysis and trip statistics

Once a file is open, the app reports distance, speed, elevation gain and other statistics for the trip. Elevation and speed charts are available for tracks and routes, which is the standard way to see where a climb sits in a ride or hike and how pace changed over the distance.

Heart rate, cadence, power and temperature are also covered. Those fields only appear if the file or the recording contains them, so they are relevant to people using sensors, not to everyone. For a cyclist with a power meter or a runner with a heart-rate strap, having that data displayed alongside the route is the reason to choose this kind of app over a basic map.

The recent update added an option to set track color by tapping a button in the graph below the map, and the developer notes faster preparation when editing a track. Those are refinements to an analysis workflow that already exists rather than new directions for the app.

Maps, navigation and recording on the move

For navigation, the app shows your real-time GPS position on the map and can automatically follow your movement during an activity. The map can rotate with device orientation or with your direction of travel, which is the behavior most people expect when following a route on a bike or on foot. It also notifies you when you approach a waypoint, which is helpful when the next turn or water stop is easy to miss.

Maps come from two directions. Online maps are based on OpenStreetMap data, and custom TMS or WMS map sources can be added. The PRO feature is detailed offline vector maps for use worldwide, along with multiple map styles tuned for city or outdoor use and regular map updates. Offline maps are the headline here for anyone heading beyond reliable signal, though the app does not claim they cover every corner of every region in equal detail.

Recording is the other half of the on-the-move experience. Trips can be recorded with adjustable profiles for different outdoor activities, and recordings can be exported to GPX or KML. Voice notifications can be set by time or distance, so you can get a prompt at intervals without looking at the screen. Creating routes, editing existing tracks, splitting or merging them, and adding or customizing waypoints directly on the map are all PRO features, which makes the app a planning tool as much as a viewer.

Weather, Trackbook and customization

Trip planning gets some help from a seven-day weather forecast with hourly detail, a PRO feature. For an outing where conditions change, that is the sort of information that decides whether a route is worth attempting on a given day. It is a companion to the route tools rather than a full weather service.

The app also synchronizes tracks and waypoints created on Trackbook, the developer's route-planning site. If you build routes there, having them appear on the phone without manual file transfers is a convenience worth having. If you do not use Trackbook, this feature simply sits unused.

Beyond that, the app is highly customizable: maps, navigation behavior, track recording and display settings can all be adjusted. That flexibility is a strength for people who know how they want the app to behave, and it is also why the settings can take some attention to get right. The developer has kept up translations and third-party libraries in the latest release, which suggests ongoing maintenance rather than a one-off release.

What to know before you install

This is a paid app at $8.99, with no ads and in-app purchases available.

The app expects you to bring your own files. It opens GPX, KML, KMZ and LOC content, and its analysis and navigation features are built around those tracks, routes and waypoints. If you do not already have route files or a device that produces them, there is little here to work with. The same applies to sensor data: cadence, heart rate, power and temperature only appear when the file or recording includes them.

Offline vector maps are a PRO feature, and so are route creation, track editing, recording profiles and weather.

Who gets the most from it

The clearest fit is someone who treats routes as data. If you download GPX files before a hike, export rides from a bike computer, or compare elevation and speed charts after a long day out, the app's combination of file handling, analysis and navigation covers that whole loop in one place. Cyclists and runners with sensors get the extra benefit of seeing cadence, heart rate, power and temperature alongside the track.

It also suits travelers who want to navigate a planned route in an unfamiliar area. Offline vector maps, waypoint alerts and map rotation by travel direction are the features that make that practical. Someone who plans on Trackbook gets a further reason to choose it, since tracks and waypoints sync between the two.

The app is less compelling for someone who wants a general map for finding nearby restaurants or public transit, or who has no interest in route files at all. Its strengths are all tied to opening, analyzing and following tracks and routes. The developer describes it as suitable for both beginners and experienced outdoor athletes, but the depth of the analysis tools suggests the experienced end of that range will get more out of it.

A paid tool for people who live in GPX files

GPX Viewer PRO is a focused, paid app for opening route files, studying them and following them outdoors. It handles GPX, KML, KMZ and LOC files, reports trip statistics with elevation and speed charts, supports sensor fields like cadence and heart rate, and offers online maps plus offline vector maps as a PRO feature. Recording, route editing, waypoint management, weather and Trackbook sync round out the package.

For hikers, cyclists, trail runners and travelers who already collect route files, that list is unusually complete, and the 4.6 rating from a large pool of reviewers supports the idea that it delivers on the basics. If your trips revolve around tracks and routes, this is the kind of app that belongs on the home screen.

What's new in version 1.52

• Added option to set track color when tapping on "..." button in graph below map • PRO Faster preparing for editing a track • Small UI improvements to graph below map • Updated 3rd party libraries • Updated multiple translations • PRO Bug fixes