Microsoft will end support for offline maps in Windows 11. When you open the Maps app, you'll see a notification that this option will no longer be available by the end of 2023.
After that, users will no longer have access to offline maps within the application. The change must be due to the termination of the agreement between Nokia Here and Microsoft.
Microsoft acquired Nokia's Here mapping and navigation business in 2015 and had been working on developing offline maps for Windows. As an alternative to offline maps, users can opt for free services like OSMAnd and Sygic. Also, Google Maps offer an offline mode, but only in mobile version of the app.
In a bid to compete with Google Maps and Apple Maps, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and mapping company TomTom have launched the Overture Maps Foundation. This joint initiative aims to create interoperable mapping products and has already released the first open dataset of such data, which third-party developers can use to create their own global mapping or navigation products (via).
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