How to get a nicer navigation voice on iPhone
Robotic turn-by-turn directions usually mean your iPhone is using its compact built-in voice. Downloading a free Enhanced or Premium voice fixes it — and some apps let you pick a voice with personality too.
Updated 5 min read
If your turn-by-turn directions sound flat and robotic, the app is usually not the problem. Most navigation apps speak through the voices built into iOS, and your iPhone comes with small, compact versions of those voices. Apple offers much better ones for free — you just have to download them.
Download an Enhanced or Premium voice
Find Voices
In Settings, go to Accessibility → Spoken Content → Voices. On newer iOS versions, Spoken Content is called Read & Speak.
Pick an English voice
Tap English, then a voice you like. Ava, Zoe, Samantha and Serena are lovely; tap the play button to hear each one.
Download Premium (or Enhanced)
Tap the Premium version — or Enhanced, if that is the best one offered — to download it. It is free and works offline once downloaded.
Come back and listen
Open your navigation app and play a sample or start a short trip. Apps that speak through iOS use the downloaded voice.
Apple Maps and Google Maps
Apple Maps speaks with your Siri voice. To change it, open Siri’s settings and choose a different Voice; Maps uses whichever you pick.
Google Maps picks its voice from your language and region settings inside the app. You can change the language, but not the personality of the voice.
A voice with personality
A nicer voice is one thing; what it says is another. In GirlyMaps, every voice is a personality that talks to you while it gives the same turn-by-turn instructions:
- Bestie — sweet, supportive, always hyping you up: “Okay bestie, in 200 meters turn left onto Sunset Boulevard. You’ve got this!”
- Baddie — sassy, confident, zero patience for wrong turns: “Listen, turn right onto Rodeo Drive. Don’t be shy. Slay.”
- Boss — calm and direct — gets you there like a ceo: “In half a mile, keep left for the highway. Let’s go.”
- Princess — dreamy and gentle, every drive a fairytale: “Darling, in 100 meters turn right. Your carriage awaits.”
- Classic — just the directions, nothing extra: “In 200 meters, turn left onto Sunset Boulevard.”
GirlyMaps picks the prettiest installed iOS voice for each personality by itself, which is why downloading a Premium voice makes Bestie and the others sound noticeably better too. The app has the same steps built in — tap How in the Sounds tab, or Get a prettier voice in Settings — with a button that plays your chosen personality when you come back.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my navigation voice sound robotic?
Are Premium iOS voices free?
How do I change the Apple Maps voice?
Which voices does GirlyMaps have?
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