Waymere is accessible, hands-free turn-by-turn navigation for transit, walking, and driving, built for low vision and light sensitivity. It shows big, high-contrast type, supports VoiceOver throughout, speaks every turn out loud, and buzzes distinct haptics, so you can find your way with the phone in your pocket. It has an Apple Watch companion and works on iPhone and iPad.
Getting started
- Install and open Waymere. No account is required, so you can use it right away. (Signing in with Apple or Google is optional and only syncs your saved places and routes across your devices.)
- Grant permissions when asked. Waymere only asks for what a feature needs (listed below).
- Move between the tabs at the bottom: Explore, Nearby, Directions, Trip Planner, Settings. On iPad you can switch to a sidebar layout in Settings, then Display & View.
The permissions Waymere may request:
- Location (While Using or Always) for turn-by-turn guidance and alerts as you approach a stop. "Always" lets it keep guiding with the screen off.
- Notifications so time-sensitive turn and stop alerts can reach you, even through Focus or Do Not Disturb.
- Microphone and Speech Recognition only if you search for a place by voice.
- Contacts only when you tap to import an address into Saved Addresses (the app never reads your whole contact list).
You can change any of these later in the iOS Settings app, under Waymere. The Free tier covers walking directions, a suggested transit route, Explore, Nearby, Look Around, the sound beacon, saved routes, themes, and the Apple Watch app; Standard, Premium, and Family add more (see Plans below).
Explore: see where you are and get oriented
The Explore tab is a map viewer for looking around without setting a destination.
- Find yourself: tap the Locate button (bottom-right) to re-center on your location.
- Which way am I facing? the compass badge (top-right) shows and speaks your heading.
- Tap a street: tap the bare map to hear the street or place name and open a card with a Look Around street-level view.
- Tap a landmark: tap a place pin to open its detail: a description, Look Around, a sound beacon, Show on map, and Plan a trip here.
- Where to? the button at the top opens the Directions entry to set a route.
- Change the map: the map-style button switches renderer (Standard, Satellite, Google Maps) and, for this session only, the appearance (Match Theme, Light, Dark, or High Contrast), handy in bright sun or at night.
- Screen-reader map: in Settings, then Display & View, turn on Screen Reader map to replace the map with an explorable list of what is around you, built for VoiceOver and braille.
Nearby: places around you
The Nearby tab lists places near you, such as cafes, stops, and restrooms.
- Filter: use the Source and View controls to change what is shown; set the radius to widen or narrow the search.
- Refresh: pull the list down to refresh with your current location.
- Open a place: tap a row to open its detail card (description, Look Around, sound beacon, and directions).
- Save a place: tap the star to save it; saved places appear under Directions, then Saved Addresses.
- Choose how you will travel: in a place's detail, pick Walk, Drive, or Transit, then tap Plan a trip here to jump straight to route choices.
Directions: recent trips, saved addresses, and saved routes
The Directions tab has three sections you switch with the tabs at the top:
- Recent: places you navigated to recently. Tap a row to start directions again, or tap the route button on the row to open route choices first.
- Saved Addresses: your Favorite Locations (Home, Work, custom labels, set in Settings) plus places you have saved. Tap to go, or the route button to see choices.
- Saved Routes: turn-by-turn you have saved, grouped into Saved Trips (walk or drive) and Saved Transit Routes. These keep guiding you without a connection.
If you left a route unfinished, a Continue prompt appears at the top to resume it. Tap the sparkles button for the AI assistant (Premium).
Setting up a route ("Where to?")
Open directions from the Where to? button (Explore) or the Directions entry:
- Set your start ("Where from"): defaults to Current Location. Tap it to choose a saved place or search a different start. Waymere remembers your last start (for example, Home) and reuses it, including for the route buttons on Recent and Saved rows.
- Add your destination and stops: tap Add stop, then type an address or place. As you type, matching results appear above the keyboard; you can also pick a recent or favorite, or tap the microphone to search by voice. The last stop is your destination.
- Reorder or remove stops: drag to reorder, tap the number to move a stop to a position (accessible), or the minus button to remove one.
- Choose a mode: Walk, Drive, Bus, or Train.
- Tap Routes: compare the options, then start.
Route choices
- Walking or driving show route alternates (or a merged multi-stop route). Tap one to start turn-by-turn.
- Transit opens the in-app Trip Planner to compare itineraries.
- Save: tap Save on an option to keep it under Saved Routes for offline reuse.
Navigating: turn-by-turn guidance
Once you start, Waymere takes over the full screen.
- Follow the guidance: the big step card shows the next maneuver; each turn is spoken aloud and buzzed as a haptic so you do not have to watch the screen.
- See all steps: tap the step card to open the full list of turns.
- Check time left: the ETA banner shows time remaining and arrival time. Tap it to pop out large-text details. Change the format in Settings, then Display & View, then Time format.
- Controls: Repeat replays the current cue, Mute silences the voice, and End stops navigation. When translation is available, a Translate button appears.
- The map: on the standard layout the route map sits below the card; you can zoom and pan (auto-follow pauses while you gesture).
- With VoiceOver on: navigation opens to the turn-by-turn list as the main content, with a Map button to show the map on demand.
- Alerts while you go: traffic delays and construction or closure notices (Premium) appear as banners; the app announces "Recalculating route" if you go off route.
- Hardware keyboard (iPad): Command-R repeats the cue, Command-M mutes, and Escape or Return ends.
Trip Planner: compare transit, timing, and Park and Ride
The Trip Planner tab plans multi-modal trips.
- Set where from: edit the "Where From?" start (defaults to current location).
- Compare itineraries: see ranked transit options with times and transfers. Free shows a single best option; Standard shows the full ranked list.
- Plan by time (Standard): choose Depart at or Arrive by a time.
- Real-time departures (Premium): see live departure boards near a stop.
- Nearby stops: browse stops around you with distances.
- Park and Ride (Premium): tap Find Park and Ride to combine driving to a station then continuing by transit; each option has Drive to Park and Ride and Transit steps buttons.
- Stop alerts: during in-app transit guidance, Waymere alerts you as you approach each stop, and you can open the route map and stop list.
- Ride-share and taxis: quick links to hail a ride where available.
- Translate: use the globe toggle to translate stop and step text.
Look Around and the sound beacon
Tap a landmark (Explore or Nearby) to open its detail card:
- Describe location: speaks the street, a nearby cross street, and how far the place is from you.
- Look Around street-level view: an inline preview where imagery exists (availability depends on Apple's coverage for the area).
- Sound beacon: tap Sound beacon to guide the last few steps with sound and haptics that intensify as you get closer, great for finding an entrance without reading the screen.
- Plan a trip here: pick Walk, Drive, or Transit, then open route choices from your established start.
- Show on map: centers the Explore map on the place (stays in Waymere).
- Translate: the globe toggle translates the title and description.
Directions without a connection
Waymere fetches a route once, then can keep guiding you even if you lose signal:
- Save a route: on the route preview, tap Save. It is stored under Directions, then Saved Routes (Saved Trips or Saved Transit Routes).
- Reuse it anywhere: tap a saved route to start turn-by-turn without a connection, useful underground or in a dead zone.
- What needs a connection: live ETA, real-time departures, and new route searches need internet; saved turn-by-turn does not.
Apple Watch companion
The Apple Watch app is optional; everything works on iPhone alone. With a paired watch you can:
- Feel your per-turn haptics and see a big, glanceable cue on your wrist.
- Hear spoken cues on the watch, and tap to repeat the current cue.
- Get time-sensitive turn and stop alerts that buzz even with your wrist down.
Configure the watch from your iPhone (Settings, then Apple Watch): connection status, per-cue haptics and voice, a Test button for each cue, and where cues fire (Watch and Phone, Phone only, or Watch only). Configuring from the phone is easier than the small watch screen and works with VoiceOver and braille.
Settings
- Profile and account: sign in with Apple (keeps your email private) or Google to sync saved places and routes; switch profiles or presets for different people or trips.
- Display and View: Display theme (System, Light, Dark, or High Contrast, a dark base with bright text and roads), Reading view (Compact or Normal), Time format, Marker colors, Route line color and width, Translation, Launch animation, Screen Reader map, and (iPad) wide or split layout.
- Filters: avoid tolls, highways, or ferries, prefer accessible routes, and set Transit preferences.
- Haptics and Voice: turn each cue's haptic or voice on or off, set the Cue haptics target (Watch and Phone, Phone, or Watch only), enable Time-Sensitive alerts, and configure Apple Watch.
- Safety: toggle the driving caution reminder (a confirmation appears; the Safety Disclaimer and Terms still apply).
- Subscription: see your plan, upgrade, restore purchases, or enter an organization license.
- Support: "How to use Waymere" (this guide), Give Feedback, and links to the Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Accessibility Statement.
Plans and billing
Compare plans
| Feature | Free | Standard | Premium | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walking directions + spoken turn-by-turn | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Transit directions (a suggested route) | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Explore, Nearby, Look Around | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Sound beacon | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Saved routes (guide offline) | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| High-Contrast, Dark, and Light themes | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Apple Watch companion | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Compare multiple transit routes | Included | Included | Included | |
| Plan by departure or arrival time | Included | Included | Included | |
| Driving with live traffic and avoidances | Included | Included | Included | |
| In-app translation | Included | Included | Included | |
| Real-time departure boards | Included | Included | ||
| Park and Ride (drive to transit) | Included | Included | ||
| AI assistant and place summaries | Included | Included | ||
| Construction and closure alerts | Included | Included | ||
| Family Sharing (up to 6) | Included | |||
| Price | Free | $3.99/mo or $29.99/yr | $7.99/mo or $59.99/yr | $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr |
Cancel anytime in your Apple Account, under Subscriptions; access continues to the end of the paid period.
Privacy
- Your location is used only to guide you, and is sent to our mapping provider (Google) to compute routes in real time.
- No ads, no tracking, and we never sell your data.
- Sign-in is optional; the app works fully as a guest.
- Full details are in the Privacy Policy (linked in Settings and on this site).
Built for everyone
Waymere works with the tools you already use:
- VoiceOver throughout; navigation opens to a turn-by-turn list with a Map button.
- Dynamic Type (large text), a High-Contrast theme, plus Dark and Light.
- Spoken turn-by-turn and haptics keep guiding with the screen locked.
- Sound beacon and per-cue haptics for non-visual wayfinding.
- Hardware-keyboard shortcuts on iPad and an Apple Watch companion.
Getting help
- In the app: Settings, then Give Feedback.
- Email: support@novaracg.com.