“Seven out of 10 smartphone navigation users use TMAP”

[Financial News] Seven out of 10 smartphone navigation users primarily use TMAP, a survey found. NAVER Map has been catching up, doubling its primary-use rate over the past three years, but TMAP retained a commanding lead at 71.9%.
According to automotive research firm ConsumerInsight on the 4th, when 11,641 smartphone navigation users were asked this year which app they used most, TMAP ranked first at 71.9%. That was about five times the figure for second-place NAVER Map (14.5%).
NAVER Map rose from 7.2% in 2023 to 14.5% this year. Kakao Navi fell from 13.2% to 9.2% over the same period, dropping to third place. Google Maps grew from 0.8% to 1.6%, while other apps, including Won Navi, Atlan, and iNavi Air, declined from 4.3% to 2.8%.
Use of smartphone navigation has shifted toward connecting to the vehicle’s screen. The share of respondents who primarily used phone projection or mirroring, such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, was 70.3%, up 9.1 percentage points from 61.2% in 2023. The share who mounted their smartphones and viewed the phone screen directly fell from 38.8% to 29.7%.
Phone projection lets users display and operate a smartphone navigation app on the vehicle’s display. The figure also includes mirroring, which reproduces the smartphone screen as is. The growing number of vehicle models that come standard with display audio supporting smartphone connectivity but not navigation is also seen as a factor behind the spread of in-car screen connectivity.
ConsumerInsight analyzed that competition among navigation apps is expanding beyond fast, accurate directions to personalization and connectivity inside and outside the car. In the past, people often entered their destination into the navigation system after getting into the vehicle. Now, a trend is emerging in which a trip begins with searching for and saving a place on a smartphone.
The survey is part of ConsumerInsight’s annual automotive planning survey, conducted every July among consumers who bought a new car within the past three years. This year, 11,641 people used smartphone navigation, while 15,967 people took part in the 2023 comparison survey. 
[email protected] Yoon Hong-jip Reporter