Red Arrow, is an ultra-minimal app, build around a simple idea.
That instead of having a compass that points “North”, you can have one that points where the “North” is whatever you want.
Particularly useful as a walking aid, Red Arrow takes all the mental overhead figuring out “which way you are looking at” in Google/Apple maps out and reduces it to a single red arrow (+distance)
Making use of the phone’s gps/magnetometer and some clever maths, said arrow points the way to one’s destination in relationship to the user and leaves it up to you to make your own directions. (Gamers might be reminded of “next objective” markers in videogames)
The app is essentially composed of two screens. One is the Arrow, underneath which a red + takes you to the second screen. A map view with a search bar. There someone can either use the search bar or press down on the map to manually add his own pin and… well… thats it.
The app also sports one final neat feature which is its widget, essentially allowing all of the arrow’s functionality to be accessed before someone even unlocks his iphone. Tapping on the widget launches the app straight into the map screen making it again as fast as possible to set a new destination.
Red Arrow is not an app that offers user accounts, sharing features and micro-transactions. What it does offer, is a clean interface, allowing someone to do a specific thing Very quickly. In this case, getting directions without actually following any.
should “build around a simple idea.” be ” built around a simple idea.”?
Indeed. But the edit button for community articles seems somewhat elusive…