Support device orientation

[DestBro]

What happened?

Right now the bearing value comes from:
Android -> AndroidLocation::bearing
iOS -> CLLocation::course

I tested the demo on a physical iOS device, the bearing does not look quite accurate and agile like in other maps (Google Maps, Apple Maps etc). Basically I could not get the cone rotate at all, it was always looking North.

Find the reasons why, I bet they use other sensors for this to work, like:

ChatGpt:
Magnetometer → acts like a digital compass, detecting the Earth’s magnetic field.
Accelerometer → senses gravity to know which way is “down”.
Gyroscope → tracks rotation and changes in orientation.

Affected Platforms

• Android
• iOS
• Desktop (JVM)
• Browser (JS)
• Browser (Wasm)

Platform Version

iOS 26

Library Version

0.12.1

Sample Code

val cameraState = rememberCameraState()
val locationProvider = rememberDefaultLocationProvider()
val locationState = rememberUserLocationState(locationProvider)

LocationTrackingEffect(locationState = locationState) {
    val position = locationState.location?.position ?: return@LocationTrackingEffect
    cameraState.position = cameraState.position.copy(target = position, zoom = 17.0)
}

Box(
    modifier = Modifier.fillMaxSize(),
) {
    AnimatedVisibility(locationState.location?.position != null) {
        MaplibreMap(
            modifier = Modifier.fillMaxSize(),
            baseStyle = BaseStyle.Uri("https://mafrend.com/map/mafrend-style.json"),
            options = MapOptions(ornamentOptions = OrnamentOptions.OnlyLogo),
            cameraState = cameraState
        ) {
            Logger.withTag("debugit").i { "locationState.location?.accuracy: ${locationState.location?.accuracy}" }
            LocationPuck(
                idPrefix = "user-location",
                locationState = locationState,
                cameraState = cameraState
            )
        }
    }
}

[jgillich]

Are you simulating movement? Bearing is your travel direction, you won't get useful values unless you're moving

[DestBro]

I moved around the house (did not notice anything, both the disk/circle and the cone/arrow did not change at all)

[DestBro]

Bearing is your travel direction

I think it should be enhanced, travel direction is no enough; it should take into account device direction - basically be a frontend for the device dirrection

[jgillich]

Try running 😆

I am working to integrate device orientation in #712, but they are effectively different things

[DestBro]

The LocationPuck should support device orientation

[DestBro]

Google Maps (any map) LocationPuck is based on device orientation

[DestBro]

Travel direction? What if I’m on a train, sitting in a backward-facing seat, holding my phone in my hands? On the map, it still shows me moving forward by the train’s travel direction — but that’s not really what I want to see when I’m trying to check where the shop or river is outside the window using my phone map as a "compas and location poi radar".

[DestBro]

But if I use the map as a navigator tool, then I would preffer the Travel direction indeed

[kodebach]

For the indicator on the location puck, I think a sensible default would be bearing (travel direction) while moving and compass heading otherwise. But for rotating the camera, I don't think there is a good default while moving. I think both the compass heading and the travel direction could make sense. Compass heading makes sense, e.g. when you're on a train/bus and want the map to face the way you're looking. Bearing makes sense, e.g. when you're walking or driving yourself, because bearing is more reliably correct than compass heading and you'll almost certainly face in the direction of travel.

[DestBro]

I don't think Google maps or majority of maps use travel direction as default puck direction indicator, I just opened the demo app yesterday and I thought that the direction indicator doesn't work. But I'm fine, it depends on the app use case, I can make heading direction to be default in my app, other people can use travel direction for their app if they want to.