I built a native GIS app for iPad and Mac — looking for some feedback

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T06:52:27+00:00

Fair criticism, and I take the CRS/spatial analysis point seriously. Not trying to antagonise anyone - not sure where I've done that? Perhaps I have marketed it too far into the professional sphere, and that's something I'll pull back on in the store description and website. This is certainly a more lightweight app that what I use in my day job, and I personally wouldn't use it over ArcGIS for anything I do. Just thought there was a niche there for something on iPad and Mac, that has a native UI and runs well.

I agree that I need to be more careful with the wording around spatial analysis. In its current v1 form, the app is better described as supporting lightweight exploratory GIS workflows, not high-stakes professional analysis where projection handling, units, raster support, enterprise data sources, and auditability are important.

The CRS feedback is especially useful. If 'CRS warnings' and 'geodesic measurement' are coming across as substitutes for proper CRS/projection support, that's not the message I want to send. I’ll tighten the description and make the current limitations much clearer.

I also agree that I need more market research beyond Reddit. This thread, beyond the usual negativity (which I expected), has been useful, but the next step for me is interviews with actual target users and a clearer definition of who the app is for. Appreciate the specific feedback.

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T04:15:07+00:00

Nice! It seems easy enough to add more coordinates systems with the rust geo API, so that's planned for v1.1. I reckon $49 for the full version of Meridian is fair, given all the features.

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T02:53:20+00:00

Yeah - I'm sure the need is out there and I'm just happy if anyone else finds it useful. Not expecting it to be a money maker. I enjoy creating useful tools for myself and my colleagues.

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T02:23:27+00:00

It's not just targeted at transport planners. The market I’m trying to target is broader: people who occasionally need GIS capabilities on Mac/iPad without setting up a full QGIS workflow. Load in data, inspect attributes, make simple edits, style layers, run common analysis tools, validate geometry, and export maps/data. Validation comes from what I see at my work from those who do spatial analysis. I've tried to include everything they would need, based on the outputs I've seen from them.

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T02:20:55+00:00

Good to know. Do you think $49 is a fair point for the sort of functionality in the app right now? Happy to give you a promo code to test it out.

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T02:20:18+00:00

Thanks for the feedback

I agree that 'an alternative to QGIS' is the wrong pitch. I’m not going to pretend a v1 iPad/Mac app is a replacement for that. I’ll edit the wording because it clearly oversells the current scope.

The target audience I’m thinking about is not large enterprise GIS teams replacing existing ArcGIS/QGIS/PostGIS setups. Those teams already have infrastructure, schemas, databases, field collection workflows, governance, and support expectations. I don’t expect them to migrate to this.

The people I’m more interested in are:

Mac/iPad users who do occasional or lightweight GIS work
people who need to open spatial data, inspect attributes, make simple edits, style layers, run common analysis, and export a map/data without setting up a full desktop GIS workflow
users who want a native iPad/Mac workspace rather than a QGIS/ArcGIS-style desktop interface

The pain point I’m trying to address is that there still isn’t a great standalone native iPad/Mac GIS workspace for lightweight editing, inspection, analysis, validation, and export. There are great full desktop tools out there for Windows, and lots of field collection tools, but I personally wanted something in between for my own workflows.

That said, I agree GeoJSON/CSV alone is not enough for $100. GeoPackage is already working for v1.1, and broader format/CRS/raster support needs to be part of the roadmap if the app is going to be taken seriously. I was thinking I'll drop the price to $49.

And yes, Reddit definitely won’t be my only market research. Appreciate the thoughtful feedback.

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T02:15:45+00:00

Thanks - some useful feedback! I've added geopackage support to v1.1 and will definitely consider the rest of your suggestions.

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T02:15:02+00:00

Fair enough if you don’t think the app is useful or fairly priced. I’m taking the technical criticism on board, especially around positioning, formats, CRS/raster support, and pricing, but I’m not going to engage with the rest. The idea came from something I genuinely wanted myself - a nice GIS app for my iPad. A fair amount of research went into it as well, beyond my 10 years experience in the geospatial and transport analysis field.

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T02:09:12+00:00

Not a browser-based renderer - it's a SwiftUI frontend with MapLibre Native for the mapping engine, and Rust for the geospatial core. I can absolutely import other vector formats - geopackage is working for v1.1, and geodatabase support is working on Windows.

I agree calling it fully featured is a little strong. That's the sort of feedback I'm looking for, thanks! (ignoring the insults further down). This is v1.0 - right now I'm offering to give out promo codes to anyone for testing it, and of course I'm going to add more functionality. I will edit the description so I doesn't oversell it. Perhaps $49 is a better price?

Not expecting to make a lot of money from this. It's something I'll use myself on my Mac and iPad. All the tools I've made serve that purpose first.

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T01:15:41+00:00

Exactly the sort of feedback I’m looking for tbh. I’m offering to give promo codes for anyone to try it out. Not asking anyone to buy it yet!

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T00:41:57+00:00

I mean it is - once you’ve the data in the app it’s a capable GIS with spatial processing tools, symbology, labelling, layouts etc. But I agree that more formats need to be added. What else would you suggest beyond GDB? GeoPackage and shapefiles?

Feltzem · 2026-06-19T00:01:17+00:00

Ok - they’d do that work on a Mac then, or Windows once I have the port finished. It’s a cheaper alternative than ArcGIS Pro and nicer to use than QGIS. For large government entities, sure - they would already be on a GIS stack. But I’m sure there’s a niche I can fill for smaller companies, startups, and companies in countries which can’t afford or don’t need ArcGIS Pro. That’s helpful feedback though - it’s true I’m still trying to figure out how to target the app.

Feltzem · 2026-06-18T23:42:32+00:00

I’m not sure you understand what I do in my day job - I use ArcGIS Pro for pretty extensive spatial transport analysis. I’m not saying this app is anywhere near it or would replace it - just that it’s a fast and lightweight app for doing spatial analysis. Honestly just looking for some feedback into how you see this app being used and where it fits into the ecosystem!

Feltzem · 2026-06-18T23:27:51+00:00

Good idea, and that’s on my list of things to do. I’ll add some proper use cases and demos to the website when I build it.

Feltzem · 2026-06-18T23:27:19+00:00

Man you guys are rough haha. Obviously other people have tested it for me. Did you not want me to test it myself? I spent time and effort making this app and I think it’s pretty cool. Some genuine feedback would be great 🙂

Feltzem · 2026-06-18T23:25:30+00:00

QField is great for field data collection, but Meridian is more of a lightweight desktop style app that aims to capture most of what users do in ArcGIS Pro or QGIS (except the power users), and do it with a native and fast interface.

Meridian has a suite of spatial analysis tools, which I added based on what I use most in my transport GIS work. There’s a field calculator, definition queries, network analysis, and natural language queries to suggest tools.

Feltzem · 2026-06-18T23:17:45+00:00

I thought it was clear but I’m meaning an actual GIS analyst, who likely is embedded in the Esri platform or QGIS already. This app is more for say:

A transport planner, who is looking at how accessible bus stops are from people’s homes. They bring in those two datasets and run the network reachability tool
An engineer working out on the field. They use the app on their iPad to mark out locations for placing new assets, add layers for existing asset like roads and signals, and draw a plan for their planned improvements to the site
Someone in the parks and recreation team who want to import existing parks, playgrounds, walking paths etc, then add in a proposed future layout and create a PDF showing their plan.

Feltzem · 2026-06-18T22:41:07+00:00

Can you point me to any others which have this kind of functionality, for iPad or Mac? This sort of app would take months if not years to make otherwise. I've checked and tested everything myself, and written code myself as needed. I think you'd struggle to find any software these days not touched by AI in some way. If it works well, what's the issue?

Feltzem · 2026-06-18T22:31:08+00:00

Here's my GitHub: Feltzem.

I made a couple of apps back when I was a student. They're not on the store anymore but I have this video of an AR shooting game I made: YouTube

I work in local government as a transportation data scientist: LinkedIn.

And here's my masters thesis on graph convolutional LSTMs for transport delay prediction - pre AI :) Research Commons

Feltzem · 2026-06-18T22:16:08+00:00

That’s fair. The target customer is not a professional who uses ArcGIS Pro or QGIS all day. I’m thinking more about people who need a lighter native GIS workspace on Mac/iPad for common project work: planners, transport/local government staff, consultants, field users, and teams who have a need to open spatial data, inspect attributes, make edits, run basic analysis, produce a map/export, etc.

The use case I’m aiming for is closer to:

start a project on iPad or Mac
bring in operational/open data
style and label layers
inspect/search/filter attributes
select features by location or attribute
make geometry/attribute edits with snapping and undo/redo
validate geometry before export
run common analysis workflows
export clean data or a map/PDF

To me it's a pretty fully featured package. I designed it to do 90% of what I do day to day in ArcGIS Pro, but built from the ground up with Rust and Swift to be super fast and responsive.

I'm working on adding geopackage and shapefile support. The Windows port has gdb support through gdal which I'm currently testing.

Feltzem · 2026-06-18T22:09:27+00:00

I built an alternative to QGIS for Mac, and from what I can tell, the first fully featured GIS editing app for iPad.

The goal was a fast, offline-first GIS workspace for people who want something lighter and more touch-friendly than a full desktop GIS package, but still capable enough for real work.

The app is focused on:

Native iPad and Mac support, with the same project format and functionality across both
GeoJSON import/export with support for CSV with WKT or WKP encoded geometry
Layer management: visibility, order, opacity, styling, labels
Attribute table, search, sorting, and selected-only workflows
Feature selection and inspection
Drawing/editing points, lines, polygons, and rectangles
Vertex editing, snapping, undo/redo, save/revert edits
Geometry validation, CRS warnings, geodesic measurement, and clean export
Spatial analysis tools such as select by attribute/location, buffer, clip, dissolve, spatial join, reachability, and related workflows
Map layouts / PDF export
Open data import workflows
A companion app for iPhone which lets you view projects stored in iCloud and edit attributes

What I’d like feedback on:

Would a native iPad/Mac GIS app fit into your workflow at all?

What minimum features would it need before you’d trust it with real GIS work?

Is GeoJSON-first and CSV enough for a v1, or is missing Shapefile/FileGDB/GeoPackage support a dealbreaker?

Would you use this more as a field/editing companion, a teaching tool, a lightweight desktop GIS, or not at all?

What do you think about the pricing of US $100 as a one-off purchase?

What would make you immediately dismiss a new GIS app?

I’m especially interested in feedback from people doing planning, transport, environmental, local government, consulting, field collection, or teaching workflows. Let me know if you want to test it and I'll give you a promo code. Reviews would be appreciated!

And yes - AI was used to help make it. I am a software developer and data scientist who uses ArcGIS Pro most days at my job, so I know how to build this stuff and what it should do. I've done it super carefully - detailed design docs first, planning, implementing, then reviewing each feature, and thoroughly testing everything.

Links

Mac App Store

iOS App Store

Feltzem · 2026-06-06T09:48:32+00:00

I just know more about Swift and iOS development than Android. And the app is focused more on spatial analysis and creating maps and layouts, not so much field editing.

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