What is a digital speedometer?
The same GPS engine as the rest of the site, showing one very large number instead of a dial. Nothing to interpret, nothing to read at an angle.
Everything else is still here. Units, speed alerts, the graph, the route trace and fullscreen. Only the readout differs.
Digital or dial?
Not really a matter of taste. They present the same information in ways that suit different jobs.
| Digital | Dial | |
|---|---|---|
| Reading an exact value | Faster and more precise | You have to guess between marks |
| Seeing how fast it's changing | Poor, you compare numbers | Immediate, from the needle |
| Corner of your eye | Has to be read directly | Needle position registers at a glance |
| Approaching a limit | No sense of how close | Obvious from the gap to the red zone |
| At high speed | Digits change too fast to settle | Stays readable |
When is digital the right choice?
- Checking a speedo against GPS. You want an exact figure to compare, not a needle position to estimate.
- Slow, precise work. Walking, cycling, a boat manoeuvring. Small changes matter and the digits are readable.
- As a passenger. No need to glance. You can read it properly.
- Poor eyesight, or a phone far from the driver. Digits scale to fill the screen. Dial markings don't.
- Recording a top speed. Read the Max tile afterwards rather than watching anything live.
Why no decimal place?
A receiver reports about once a second, so the number is up to a second old. Under hard acceleration it trails reality by several km/h until things settle.
It's also why whole numbers are the default. A decimal gives you a digit that flickers constantly and carries no information, because GPS speed is uncertain by one to three km/h anyway. So the tenths place is noise dressed up as precision. Turn it on in settings if you're measuring something slow, where a tenth genuinely is the difference.
Reading it from a distance
The number scales with the screen, so fullscreen on a phone in a dashboard mount is legible from the passenger seat. Double-tap it, or use the expand icon, to fill the screen and hide everything else. The dark theme is much easier at night.
Frequently asked questions
Is digital more accurate than a dial?
No. Both come from exactly the same GPS reading. Digital is easier to read precisely. A dial is easier to read quickly and shows rate of change. The measurement underneath is identical.
Why does the number jump around?
GPS speed is uncertain by roughly one to three km/h and updates about once a second. Turn up the smoothing for a calmer figure, at the cost of reacting a little slower.
Can I show decimals?
Yes, in settings. It's off by default because the tenths digit is smaller than the measurement error at road speeds. It's genuinely useful when walking or cycling.
Can I get a dial instead?
Yes, the analogue speedometer page is the same tool with a needle.
Does it work offline?
Yes. The page saves itself to your phone the first time you open it, and speed comes from satellites rather than the network.