Navigation Pro: Maps on Watch

Review by eFreeware

Navigation Pro: Maps on Watch is a small utility from Smartwatch Studios that relays Google Maps navigation instructions from your phone to a Samsung smartwatch. The pitch is simple: you start a route on the phone, and the turns show up on your wrist so the handset can stay in a pocket, bag or mount. For anyone who already wears a Galaxy Watch or an older Gear model, that is the main reason to consider it.

It has been on Google Play since April 2017 and has passed a million installs, with a 4.6 average across more than 11,600 ratings. Those numbers suggest a settled tool rather than a novelty. The app is a paid download at $2.99, with no ads and no in-app purchases, so the cost is a one-off decision rather than an ongoing commitment.

What I find appealing is how narrow the idea is. It does not try to be a full navigation app; it takes directions you have already started and pushes them to a screen you can glance at without reaching for the phone. If that matches how you travel, the rest of this review is about whether the details line up.

Drivers, cyclists and transit riders with a Samsung watch

The app is built for people who navigate with Google Maps and wear a Samsung watch. The developer lists driving, cycling and public transport as the situations it covers, which is a useful range: a driver wants a quick glance at the next turn, a cyclist wants a buzz on the wrist rather than a screen to read, and a transit rider wants to know when to get off without holding a phone.

The watch side is not limited to one generation. It works with all Galaxy Watch models as well as the Gear S2, S3, Sport, Gear 1, Gear 2 and Gear S. That breadth matters if you are still using an older Gear device, since many watch utilities assume the newest hardware. Owners of a Gear Fit2 or Fit2 Pro are pointed to a separate app instead.

The catch is that this is not a standalone watch app. It needs the phone to be part of the process, and it needs a companion app that you download free from Samsung Galaxy Apps. You also install the phone-side app from Google Play and grant it notification access so it can read what Maps is displaying. In other words, the watch is the display, and the phone does the work.

If you want turn-by-turn directions on your wrist, this app is built for that. If you want your existing phone-and-watch pair to work together more comfortably, the setup is the price of entry.

Directions relayed from phone to wrist

The core function is straightforward: start Google Maps Navigation on the phone and the instructions are pushed to the watch. The app can start itself when navigation begins, so you do not have to open it manually each time, and it can speak directions aloud on the watch as well as show them. Vibration is customizable, which is the part I would expect to matter most on a bike, where a distinct buzz is easier to notice than a screen.

The developer also mentions themes, a speedometer option and support for 102 languages. The language count is worth noting for anyone who navigates in a language other than English, since watch interfaces often lag behind. The speedometer is a secondary readout rather than a replacement for your vehicle's instruments, but it can be handy when the phone is out of reach.

Recent updates have added autostart, voice output, themes and customization, along with improved Android 16 compatibility and support for public transport. There is also experimental support for Maps Go, Here WeGo, Locus Maps, OsmAndroid, Calimoto and GeoVelo, which suggests the developer is testing beyond the core Google Maps integration. Experimental means exactly that, so I would treat those as a bonus rather than the reason to buy.

Getting the handoff working

Setup follows a chain: install Samsung Gear or Galaxy Wearable and connect the watch, install the watch app, install the phone app, start the phone app, then allow it to read notifications under Settings, Security, Notification Access. After that, starting Google Maps Navigation should send instructions to the watch. The order matters, and skipping the notification permission is the usual reason nothing appears.

The developer's troubleshooting notes are unusually specific. If the watch only shows a "Ready" message, Maps notifications may need to be enabled on the phone under Settings, Apps, Maps, Show notifications. Restarting both devices is suggested, as is uninstalling the phone app, restarting and reinstalling. Xiaomi phone owners are told to enable autostart for the app under Security, Permissions, Autostart.

I read that list as a sign of how many moving parts are involved rather than a defect. Notification access, a companion app from a second store, and a watch connection all have to line up. Once they do, the routine is meant to be invisible, but the first setup is not a one-tap affair.

A one-off $2.99 with nothing else attached

The app costs $2.99. That is a clean arrangement for a utility: you pay once and the feature set is what you get.

The companion app on the watch side is a separate free download from Samsung Galaxy Apps, which is a requirement rather than a cost. The phone-side app comes from Google Play. The app is a one-time purchase with no subscription.

For a tool that does one job, that pricing is easy to weigh. You are paying less than the price of a coffee for a permanent handoff between two devices you already own. Whether it is worth it depends entirely on whether you navigate often enough to want the watch involved.

When a dedicated watch navigation app makes more sense

The obvious alternative is simply using Google Maps on the phone and leaving the watch out of it. That costs nothing and works everywhere, but it means looking at a screen, which is exactly what this app is trying to avoid. If you rarely navigate, the phone alone is probably enough.

Another option is a watch platform that handles navigation natively, without a phone relaying anything. That approach avoids the companion app and the notification permission, but it ties you to whatever hardware and software combination provides it. This app's value is that it works with a wide range of existing Samsung watches, including older Gear models.

There is also the question of which watch you own. If you have a Gear Fit2 or Fit2 Pro, the developer points to a different app rather than this one. And if your watch is not a Samsung model, the compatibility list here does not cover it. Those are hardware boundaries rather than criticisms, but they decide the purchase before anything else does.

A focused tool for Samsung watch owners who navigate often

Navigation Pro does one thing: it moves Google Maps directions from your phone to your Samsung watch, with voice, vibration and a handful of display options around it. It has been doing that since 2017, it has over a million installs and a 4.6 rating, and it costs $2.99 with no ads or in-app purchases. I would expect it to suit drivers, cyclists and transit riders who already wear a compatible Samsung watch and want their phone to stay put.

The requirement to keep the phone involved and to install a free companion app from Samsung Galaxy Apps is the main thing to accept. The setup steps and troubleshooting notes show that this is a chain of permissions and connections rather than a single install. Once it is running, the appeal is the glance-and-go convenience that a wrist display offers.

If you navigate regularly and your watch is on the compatibility list, this is a small, one-time purchase with a clear purpose. That is how I would decide.

What's new

Autostart watch app Voice output on watch Themes & customization Improved Android 16 compatibility Support for public transport Experimental support for Maps Go, Here WeGo, Locus Maps, OsmAndroid, Calimoto & GeoVelo Wear OS support