Recently, the voice that gives driving directions (at least the one on my phone) has changed. It seems to pronounce words slightly more distinctly than the previous voice, which is fine, but it is much less pleasing to listen to, and often shades into vocal fry.
I guess i assumed their voice was an AI voice, which doesn’t explain why they would change it in this manner. Maybe they thought have an irritating voice telling them where to go would keep drivers more on their toes.
Something you might try:
Yes, you can change the voice or language on Google Maps, though options are limited to different regional languages and accents rather than custom gender choices.
On Android
On iPhone (iOS)
I use the female British voice, mostly because “she” really struggles with Afrikaans place and street names.
I am both childish and easily amused.
The previous version was an AI voice, it’s just that this is the new and improved Gemini AI voice that’s supposed to sound more natural. Or, to some people, more annoying. FWIW, you aren’t alone in not liking it.
It’s annoying when this happens. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The older Google voice was fine and perfectly understandable (to me at least) and we get used to it so changing it is unwelcome.
But I guess they want to insert Gemini into every damn thing they can (also annoying…I do not want it but they just make us use it wherever they can).
At the least Google should offer an option to use the “old” version or switch and leave it to the user to choose.
Don’t mind the voice, but I wish I could find a way to correct the pronunciation of some roads and places of interest. Here in Raleigh, we have Lead Mine Road (as in, a road serving a lead mine). Google Maps insists it is pronounced like “Leed Mine Road.” I have submitted comments to them under a couple categories, but with no response or correction. And this is just one example.
Note: I’m told that the mine was actually for graphite, but the name still makes sense.
I still remember when it would send you through Harlem on “Malcolm the Tenth Boulevard.”
It’s got me turned around a few times but mostly it is pretty good.
I think Wayz has more voices. Also owned by Google. Not sure about that though.
I’ve griped about that here as well! I find that voice viscerally irritating. As far as I and AI can tell, there’s no way to change it without its losing the ability to vocalize street names.
I want South Park (America) voice as an option. Cartman telling me off after blowing through a turn, “#&¢% around you idiot” instead of " recalculating".
She sounds like some of my grade school nuns.
A decade or more ago, wasn’t there a hack that let you use Yoda’s voice? Not just his accent, but his atrocious syntax. I’m not sure if that was for smart phones or if it was for standalone Garmin GPS.
Thanks for the instructions, I changed from Default to English (US), which seems to be the old voice.
hehe …
Pio XI (Pope Pius 11) … is Peeo Ex Eye here … took me a couple of secs to figure that one out … although I have to say that when using the standard english language, it has quite improved on spanish street/place names. And yes, just like @scudsucker, I am easily entertained.
I remember navigating to Ro-deo Doctor in Beverly Hills.
It has an absurd number of available voices in US English, including more than a few cartoon characters, astrological signs, and even options to supposedly learn French, Spanish, or Portuguese. I was surprised when I saw the list, which is a LOT longer than it was when I picked a voice for mine.
I’ll stick with Thomas, thanks (UK English, does street names). Pleasant-sounding, and I’m used to him (do occasionally call him Voldy or variants, though, when he’s not at his most intelligent). He does pronounce some words oddly in ways that cannot be explained by his accent (“Los Angelees”, long “e” on the final vowel. Really?).
You need to have “Letterman” toggled off.
Driving through my mom’s old neighborhood, “Turn right on Street Catherine Street” (St. Catherine St.) always made me giggle.
For a while a few years ago, Google Maps was reading “Hwy 1” as “wee one”. I was sad when they fixed that.
I thought that used to be a fairly common East Coast thing, at least back in the iron age when I was young. Then there was the one where they pronounced the “ng” in Los Angeles like in “angle.”