Improved camera
What you see while taking a photo in the app is exactly the picture you get. Grid lines and a level help you keep it straight, and if you like, your photos also go to your phone’s gallery.
Today
October 2026
Week of October 12
Films play more smoothly on every device
Even on older phones and tablets your film stutters far less often now, and picture and music stay in step.
8 small fixes
- The app’s lists no longer flicker when you come back from another app.
- All music tracks now play at the same volume, so none stands out as louder or quieter.
- Maptale now picks music to suit the mood and length of your film, instead of giving every tour the same track.
- “Forgot password?” now opens the right page in the app straight away.
- Long titles fit on the film’s start screen.
- The app stays upright; only the film turns with your phone.
- Photos in the film no longer shake while slowly zooming in.
Week of October 5
Your film now opens with a fly-in
At the start the camera flies in from high above towards your route. That way the film starts without waiting and without stuttering.
Train journeys follow the rails
On a train, recordings are often inaccurate: the route jumps back and forth or breaks off in tunnels. Maptale now puts your journey on the actual rails, with every stop at a station.
Dashed: what your phone records on a train. Orange: how Maptale shows the journey.
Photos appear in the right place
Sometimes your phone saves an inaccurate location with a photo. Maptale then looks at the time and shows the photo where you were at that moment.
Hiking, cycling or driving: the app asks when you start
That way Maptale knows what your route should look like and which sounds suit your film. When you upload on a computer, Maptale asks the same.
Invite your friends yourself
Your account now has invitations of your own that you can pass on to friends.
8 small fixes
- A new short film on the home page shows how Maptale works.
- The film no longer freezes on older devices.
- The line that traces your path no longer flickers.
- Each photo in the film shows how far along the route it was taken.
- In the app’s full-screen photo view, swipe to the next picture.
- Maptale tidies up single stray points in your recorded route by itself.
- A recording in which you didn’t move no longer ends up as an empty tour in your list.
- Pull “My tours” or “Discover” down to refresh the list.
Week of September 28
Shorter films, pace your way
Maptale now speeds through long stretches without photos on its own, and each photo stays on screen for three seconds. On your computer you can set the pace of every section and of the whole tour in five steps.
A new beginning and a new ending
The start screen now lists every photo stop, and you can begin the film at any of them. At the end, five of your photos fan out, and “Watch again” takes you back to the start.
Shared tours in your language
If someone shares a tour in German, you can read its title and description in English, and the other way round. A short note tells you that Maptale translated the text.
4 small fixes
- To stop a recording, press and hold the button for a moment. That way it never happens by accident.
- Your tours now show the date of the trip rather than the upload, grouped by month.
- Snow, rain and thunderstorms look more real in your film.
- When you send feedback, you first choose whether it is a question, an idea or a bug.
September 2026
Week of September 21
1 small fix
- Recorded tours play their sound at full volume again.
Week of September 14
Lots more music and sounds
The library on your computer gains 41 music tracks, 15 background sounds such as forest, rain or city, and 37 short sound effects.
Flights in your film
Maptale recognises when you are flying. The camera climbs with you, circles the plane and shows your journey from high above.
2 small fixes
- The home page opens with a flight over Mount Rinjani and loads faster.
- Maptale now recognises trams, ferries and cars more reliably.
Week of September 7
Flick through your photos
Use the arrow keys or a swipe to jump to the next or previous photo stop. A tap shows or hides the controls, and a click on the photo pauses the film.
A calmer camera and a more natural horizon
In bends the camera now looks ahead and keeps you in the picture. Distant mountains sit in a light haze, just as you see them from a summit.
Two new sample tours: Rinjani and Cerro Negro
Hike through the night up Mount Rinjani in Indonesia, with moonlight and its own music. And sandboard down the ash slopes of Cerro Negro in Nicaragua.
6 small fixes
- In rain and thunderstorms you can’t see as far in the film.
- The editor now opens right at your route instead of on a map of the world.
- The train icon now actually looks like a train.
- You can now save videos in 4K, and thunderstorms rumble in the video too.
- While loading, “My tours” and “Discover” show placeholders in the right shape, so nothing jumps around.
Week of August 31
The app, rebuilt
A bar at the bottom takes you between your tours, Discover and your profile. New: a short introduction on first launch, creating an account right in the app, and a strip that always takes you back to the recording in progress.
Start recording with one tap
A home screen widget, or a long press on the app icon, starts recording straight away. Route files someone sends you open directly in the app.
Sort, filter and rename your tours
Every tour now has a menu for renaming, deleting and choosing its cover photo. In Discover you can filter by place, country and how people travelled, and the sample tours are included too.
6 small fixes
- In the app, the cog in your profile now opens your account settings.
- If you see something inappropriate, you can report it in a couple of taps, and we will get back to you.
- Signing out of the app now also removes the phone from your list of signed-in devices.
- New sample tour: a hike through Tiger Leaping Gorge in China.
- You can now also save videos at 25 frames per second.
August 2026
Week of August 24
Car, running, bus and train
Four new ways of getting around. Each has its own icon, its own pace and its own sound in the film.
New controls in the film
At the bottom, a chain of segments shows where your photos are and how long each part lasts. On a phone, double-tap to jump ten seconds forward or back, and keep your finger down to play at double speed.
Maptale now speaks English
The website, films, app and emails are now fully available in English. Pick your language at the bottom of any page or in your account, and Maptale can show distances in miles if you prefer.
5 small fixes
- The app now offers new versions for installation itself.
- The app uses your account language, whatever language your phone is set to.
- When uploading on your computer, “Automatic” is now preselected instead of “Bike”.
- Your route in the editor is back in colour and clickable again.
- Deleting your account now requires your password.
Week of August 17
Save your film as a video
On your computer you can save the whole tour as a video file, landscape or portrait, at the frame rate you choose. Weather, photos and the start screen are all included.
The start screen tells the story
Before the film starts you now see your description instead of the recording date. The card for each photo only mentions what the picture can’t tell you itself.
5 small fixes
- Links in emails from Maptale lead to the right page again.
- After signing out you land on the home page.
- When you start a film in your phone’s browser, it now fills the whole screen.
- At the end the film fades out gently and the music fades away.
- Uploading now works even on phones that heavily restrict apps in the background.
Week of August 10
Picture and sound in step
Picture, music and photos now follow one shared clock. The film no longer speeds up in bends, and the bar at the bottom shows the film’s time rather than distance.
Add photos and videos later
Forgot a picture? On your computer you can add more photos and videos to a finished tour, and Maptale puts them in the right place.
Tours straight from your Polar watch
Connect your Polar account and every new recording becomes a tour without you lifting a finger. The app adds matching photos and videos from your phone and lets you know as soon as the film is ready.
6 small fixes
- If you open two tours one after the other, the second no longer shows the first one’s photos.
- The different kinds of weather in the film now look clearly different.
- If you jump to another point on the timeline, playback carries on from there.
- When you play your tour on the computer, the rain now shows in the preview too.
- The name now carries an “Alpha” label, and a dedicated button lets you send us feedback.
- Maptale now accepts HEIC photos, the format many phones save in.
Week of August 3
Your account settings
A page of its own lets you change your email and password, see your signed-in devices and how much storage you use. You can also download all your data in one go.
Your profile at its own address
Your profile now lives at a short address like maptale.io/@name. Shared tours and profiles show a preview with title and picture in messaging apps.
Steadier videos, faster photos
Videos filmed in the app are now stabilised, so your hand may shake but the picture stays steady. Photos load faster everywhere because Maptale shows them at the right size.
6 small fixes
- You can now set your profile picture and cover photo right where you edit your profile.
- The timeline on your computer now measures in film seconds, so you can see how long things really last in the film.
- The app now shows which version you have installed.
- Emails from Maptale now look like Maptale too.
- Signing up now takes just two fields.
- No invitation yet? You can now join the waiting list.
Week of July 27
Maptale works out how you’re travelling
Choose “Automatic” in the app and Maptale recognises when you are walking, cycling or riding a bus or tram. The film then shows the matching icon and pace.
Breaks play as a time-lapse
If you take a long break along the way, Maptale condenses it into a time-lapse. Light and weather carry on instead of jumping from day to night, and your route no longer wanders about while you stand still.
Photo stops stand above the landscape
The numbered markers for your photos now stand on a small post, so in the mountains they no longer vanish behind the next ridge.
6 small fixes
- Videos in a tour now start straight away instead of loading first.
- When you sign up, Maptale shows how strong your password is.
- The film controls now step back when you don’t need them.
- Maptale has a new logo: an open globe.
- Maptale now shows the camera, lens and exposure for each photo.
- Upload your own music and sounds once and use them in any tour.
July 2026
Week of July 20
New tours come with music
Maptale picks music for your film to suit the time of day, weather, terrain and how you travelled. You can swap it for another track on your computer at any time.
Sharing, gallery and profiles
For each tour you decide who can see it: just you, anyone with the link, or everyone. Public tours appear in a gallery, and everyone gets a profile with a picture and a short bio.
A proper camera in the app
Pinch to zoom, tap to focus, flash and front camera. Your photos line up in a strip below the shutter button, and you can give each one a title that appears in the film.
Edit your film on your computer
A timeline shows travel mode, camera, music and photos on separate tracks. You place sounds and special camera moments exactly where they belong.
5 small fixes
- Videos in your tour now play their sound, and the music gets quieter meanwhile.
- A timer shows how long you have been recording, whichever screen you are on.
- A sketch of your route now grows as you record.
- The app now uploads finished recordings by itself and shows all your tours in one list.
- If the weather is off, you can now set it yourself on your computer.
Week of July 13
Your own tours
Record on the go with the Android app while taking photos and videos, or upload a route file and your pictures on your computer. With your own account, Maptale turns it into your film, complete with the weather of that day.
The weather comes from your photos
Maptale looks at your pictures. If a photo shows rain or fog, it rains or turns foggy at that point in the film too.
1 small fix
- A new home page shows what Maptale can do and offers the app for download.
Week of July 6
New sample tour: Koh Pha-ngan
By moped, jeep and boat across the Thai island, from the afternoon into a full-moon night.
Weather, daylight and sound
Rain, thunderstorms, haze and the path of the sun now appear in the film. You also hear music and the sound of your vehicle, from moped to boat.
2 small fixes
- The dot that marks you on the route stays fully visible even from a steep angle.
- You can now switch sound, music and weather on and off separately in the film.
Week of June 29
The first version is online
A route becomes a 3D camera flight with photo stops, over real terrain and with changing daylight. To begin with there are two sample tours: the Bernese Oberland and Stockholm with its archipelago.
1 small fix
- When you skip forwards or back, the camera now pans smoothly instead of jumping.
Where it all began