I would not use my only phone for navigation.
It is to big risk that it get damage in case of accident.....

So even if I use a phone as GPS. It is a separate phone.
=> Still same amount of devices.

The phone needs a mounting that reduces vibrations, if the phone shall survive.
And a water proof cover top protect it from rain.

End... I do not even try to plan my routes on the phone. (Unless it is from A to B. But not a normal complex route) With that small screen and no mouse. I use a PC and down load to the phone.

Some apps works on both Android and windows.
Others can generate .gpx files to be used by the phone.

When it comes to apps, there are very many opinions.
It is more up to your preferences. No science.

I think we all are aware that phones are less robust, and some less than others. But it really doesn't answer the questions above.

What I and many others are looking for is to be able to extend the use of the phone as a navigation device, not necessarily replace a GPS completely - to use one as primary and the other for backup - depending on circumstance (and on some trips not take the GPS at all). As such we are after some 30 pages more interested in learning about significant differences in software capabilities - as of where we stand today.

Most of us are aware of the hardware issues that still exist, and which puts limitations on phones. In my opinion "Heat Strokes" is the single most relevant vulnerabily (as the others are easily negated). The conditions for this symptom can be metvanywhere on the planet, but more frequently in hotter climates.

The question for most is no longer wether to use a phone for navigation or not - but rather to what extent , and under which surcumstances to do so or not . The question to many will then be how much it is justifiableto spend on a GPS (i.e. if they can make do with a phone and maybe even a 10-15 year old hand held)? The question becomes even more relevant when riding in a group. How many of the bikes riding together ought to have a top of the line GPS or any at all?

Here is a list of popular mobile navigation apps (Source sixt.com). In bold are the only ones on this list that is currently on my phone as they have shown most promise.

Google Maps
Waze
MapQuest
Maps.Me
Scout GPS
InRoute Route Planner
Apple Maps
MapFactor Navigator
OsmAnd
CoPilot GPS Navigation
TomTom GO Navigation
HERE WeGo Maps & Navigation
Gaia GPS
Karta GPS
Polaris GPS Navigation
Roadtrippers
Traffic Spotter
Sygic GPS Navigation & Maps
Glob
ETA Live Traffic Alert

I also have Avenza Maps, iOverlander, and several others that are relevant for navigation, but that are not proper motorcycle navigation apps per se.

Maps.Me vs MapFactor Navigator - I am yet to put either to the test IRL. I've only played around with the in the comforts of my home.

I can't see a single thing that Maps.Me can do that MapFactor Navigator shouldn't be able to do better. MapFactor Navigator can do so much more than Maps.Me in the way that it is far more customizable - including search, route preferences, and more. It also offers the option to purchase Tom Tom maps (but the free seems plenty good)

I don't trust the search on Maps.Me. I tried searching on the street address for the royal palace in Oslo, Norway (Drammensveien 1, Oslo). It is a good test as the road spans over several municipalities, and ends in another city bearing the same name as the road (Drammen). The search returns far too many idiotic results, and in a manner that is anything but intuitive. Also, it doesn't prioritize street names over all the community garbage entries - making it very difficult to both find and pick the correct address (it took me four attempts, and for a location I really know we'll). If you are not very familiar with where you are going (which is probably when you need a GPS in the first place), it is very easy to end up in a very different location than you intended - far, far off the mark.

What Maps.me does have going for it is a map view that is slightly better for offroad navigation. It is also easier to use over all. It seems as though both spps offer turn by turn navigation and route calculation across road and offroad paths.

If I was to ride offroad on a GPX route, I still think I would favor the Navigator over Maps.Me -even if the map perspective of the latter would be slightly better offroad. The main reason is all the other bits of customizable info I can get on the Navigator (all types of distances, times, elevations, speed, avg speed, etc).

To me, it looks as though MapFactor Navigator has the most to offer. Time will show when it comes to importing GPX how good either are.

As for Google maps, it is by far the best option if you just want to get someplace fast, but don't care about which route. It's when you want to take a very specific route that things become a real PITA. And offroad, forget about Google maps all together.

I have yet to try to import GPX files to Google Maps (if at all doable), but I assume I will loose any turn by turn instructions and/or route recalculation. When getting into this realm, it is probably better to get aquatinted with another app. If creating and sharing routes for Google maps can be done easily, it still has its place. Everybody has google maps - so it is a great way to share routes with others (for planning purposes, for riding together, or just sharing for caring).

What would you see as any significant shortcomings of Maps.Me or MapFactor Navigator - relative to a GPS? Set aside hardware robustness.

__________________
Blog: www.bamakobyvespa.no
My Youtube Channel

Quote from your post

"For most of the time I would prefer to have only one device to deal with (phone) and have a very good GPS for those times that the phone won't do."

That why I wrote that I would not use only one device. Even If a phone can do everything.

I would have one as GPS device. And one stored in a safer place.
To be able to call even after an accident.

And that my friend, is the better advice that we all should adhere to. Years back, there was only map, compass and roadbooks. It worked, it just isn't very practical. Having a GPS is in my opinion a must for any long adventures. For many shorter adventures though, caring for multiple devices outweighs it's benefits.

In any regard, wether your phone is your primary device, or your only device, or your backup - it is a good idea to have the best software for that phone. The question then becomes, which is best?

I had the chance to test MapFactor Navigatorbin real life today, albeit only a bit and for all point to point road travel only. It performed really well. I'm yet to test roues or GPX

__________________
Blog: www.bamakobyvespa.no
My Youtube Channel

I tried MapFactor today. Looks good, but it's very unintuitive.

I couldn't figure out how to make it route me somewhere. In fact I still don't know how to do it. Somehow I inadvertantly set it to route somewhere, and now I don't know how to turn off that route.

It's like there are a bunch of buttons missing. I see nowhere to simply route to a POI. And it doesn't look like there's any functionality for GPX files.

I can't get gpx neither opened or uploaded to neither maps.me (don't think it supports GPX, nor Map factor GOX, nor OSMand. I tried opening the file on the gpx viewer app, and it shows up perfect. It is a file found on the official TET site, do I assume the file is ok.

Not sure what I am doing wrong. Maybe android changed their app policies for storage? Maybe it is something with the file? Or maybe it is just me.

When trying to open the file, OSMand is the only one showing up as an alternative - but it doesn't work. Trying to import doesn't work for OSMand, and neither does saving the file to the folder recommend by Mapfactor.

Frustrated!!!

__________________
Blog: www.bamakobyvespa.no
My Youtube Channel

Mapfactor Navigator drains the battery fast as it runs in the background checking for positions regardless if it's in use or not, and doesn't turn off unless forced - which is a pain. Well for me anyways. It doesn't look very promising.

__________________
Blog: www.bamakobyvespa.no
My Youtube Channel