Strava recently announced that it’s bringing several app updates which improve tracking and new features for hiking, route planning, navigating, and even baked-in social tools. The platform adds that the update will come with a blend of free and subscriber-exclusive features for mobile devices.
For route preparation, the app will introduce improvements that highlight trail surface data and key points of interest such as trailheads, picnic areas, and campgrounds. Premium subscribers will get a new Route Saves feature to easily store and access trails directly from various pages within the app, which joins existing paid tools like Route Discovery and Route Builder.
Strava also launched a new Off-Route Alerts system, a premium tool which notifies users if they wander off their planned path. App users also get a new one-tap fullscreen Mobile Record Map for real-time clarity and Live Elevation tracking to help pace climbs, and subscribers can still download offline routes to ensure cell dead zones do not disrupt navigation.
Subscribers can also access Activity Replays, a new feature that auto-animates a completed route directly in the social feed from start to finish. Strava says that this is designed to pair with Flyover, a premium-access feature which displays 3D aerial animation of a hike based on real elevation data.
The free tier does include social tools to allow users to view hikes as 3D topographic landscapes, as well as share distance and elevation via social-ready sticker stats, and even join in group challenges and leaderboards.
Strava says that a majority of its new tracking and sharing features are available to users immediately, while the updated map styles and enhanced trail surface data are scheduled to roll out later this summer.
