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Install & Devices

Bristol Maps runs on iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, Mac, and Windows. This page covers picking a device, installing the app, and working out how much storage you need for offline imagery.

Device Recommendations

Recommended

An Apple iPad Cellular model provides the best experience. The cellular model includes an integrated GPS chip. Wi-Fi-only models do not have GPS and require an external device for location data.

For mounting solutions there are various companies that offer quality solutions. Ram mounts are the most common. Joy Factory mounts are recommended for a high end mount.

Whatever you pick, the two things that matter on deck are a GPS fix and enough free storage for your imagery. Anything without a built-in GPS needs a position source -- see NMEA & GPS Setup.

Platforms

Download from the Apple App Store. Requires iOS 13.0 or later.

The same App Store build also installs on M-series Macs (Apple Silicon). It runs as an iPad app on the Mac desktop.

Note

M-series Macs have no internal GPS. You need an external GPS antenna, or a network position source over NMEA, for location data.

Download from the Google Play Store. Requires Android 10 (API 29) or later.

Available on Android phones and tablets.

A separate native desktop build is available for macOS on both Apple Silicon and Intel. It is a different app from the iPad build above -- see Bristol Maps for Desktop.

Downloads: bristolmaps.com/desktop/downloads/

The native desktop build also runs on Windows (64-bit and ARM). See Bristol Maps for Desktop.

Downloads: bristolmaps.com/desktop/downloads/

Two ways to run on a Mac

On an M-series Mac you can run either the iPad app from the App Store or the native desktop app. They are separate installs with separate local data. Your account, subscription, and cloud-synced items (waypoints, routes, logs, groups) are shared through your Bristol Maps account, not through the local files.

Storage for Offline Imagery

Offline imagery is the reason the app works when you have no signal, and it is the bulk of what the app stores on your device.

  • Individual map files range from roughly 50 MB to several hundred MB each.
  • The first-run setup screen shows an estimated total for the area you pick, in MB or GB, before anything downloads.
  • Downloaded files stay on your device until you remove them.

Check free space before a big download

Download over Wi-Fi, and leave headroom on the device. If you fill the device completely, downloads fail part way through and the app has no room to write logs or track history.

If you are choosing a device to buy, size it around the imagery you expect to carry for your districts plus the rest of what is already on the device. The setup screen's per-area estimate is the honest number to plan against.

Details on browsing, downloading and layering imagery are in Maps & Offline Imagery.

After Installing

  1. Work through the first-run walkthrough -- see First Launch & Setup.
  2. Create or sign in to an account -- see Account Setup.
  3. Download imagery for your area -- see Maps & Offline Imagery.

A subscription is required for all use of Bristol Maps. See Subscription & Billing.

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