GPS app for iPhone that doesn’t need to sync to car?
June 14, 2018 9:04 AM Subscribe
I’m going on a longish trip soon, and I’d like to get a GPS app that talks to me, but my car is not equipped to sync with a phone and all that jazz. Is there an app that lets me plug in my start and end locations and then directs me where to go via speech that doesn’t need to be linked with the car?
Best answer: Get a phone mount so that you can keep your phone where you can see it, and a charger that you can plug into the power port on your car, and just use your phone (Google Maps). The syncing with car part is 100% unnecessary.
posted by brainmouse at 9:13 AM on June 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by brainmouse at 9:13 AM on June 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Yep, car sync is unnecessary. Google Maps has worked easiest for me, though some swear by an app called "Waze."
I second the suggestion to get a hand's free holder for your car, and a charger. My phone has an aux input I can use to play phone audio through the stereo, but what I've found works best for me is using the stereo for music, while syncing my phone's audio with a bluetooth headset. That way I clearly hear the directions in my ear, the music isn't paused everytime the GPS talks, and I'm dangerously distracted trying to fiddle with a music app and gps on my phone at the same time.
Happy travels!
posted by ethical_caligula at 9:20 AM on June 14, 2018
I second the suggestion to get a hand's free holder for your car, and a charger. My phone has an aux input I can use to play phone audio through the stereo, but what I've found works best for me is using the stereo for music, while syncing my phone's audio with a bluetooth headset. That way I clearly hear the directions in my ear, the music isn't paused everytime the GPS talks, and I'm dangerously distracted trying to fiddle with a music app and gps on my phone at the same time.
Happy travels!
posted by ethical_caligula at 9:20 AM on June 14, 2018
Waze does this. It uses the speaker of your choice, whether that's the phone speaker or something else it's synched to.
My husband and I do use an aftermarket bluetooth car adapter (they come in plug-into-aux and fm transmitter versions) because we listen to audiobooks and podcasts in the car and it's much easier to hear over the car speakers, but on long trips we put one phone on Waze (you do need a charging cable, it'll eat your battery) on speaker and the other one playing over the stereo, just so she's not constantly talking over our podcasts.
If the phone speaker isn't loud enough, and you can't be bothered with the add-on system, you could also just use a cheap plug-in or bluetooth speaker in the car.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:24 AM on June 14, 2018
My husband and I do use an aftermarket bluetooth car adapter (they come in plug-into-aux and fm transmitter versions) because we listen to audiobooks and podcasts in the car and it's much easier to hear over the car speakers, but on long trips we put one phone on Waze (you do need a charging cable, it'll eat your battery) on speaker and the other one playing over the stereo, just so she's not constantly talking over our podcasts.
If the phone speaker isn't loud enough, and you can't be bothered with the add-on system, you could also just use a cheap plug-in or bluetooth speaker in the car.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:24 AM on June 14, 2018
Best answer: Agreed that the syncing with the car is wholly unnecessary. Just plug your phone into power and use the phone itself with the speaker already in it.
Bonus factoid - apple maps uses a lot less data for this than google maps, and both use a lot less than waze (if that is relevant to you).
posted by Brockles at 9:24 AM on June 14, 2018
Bonus factoid - apple maps uses a lot less data for this than google maps, and both use a lot less than waze (if that is relevant to you).
posted by Brockles at 9:24 AM on June 14, 2018
One thing you might want to invest in is a small suction-cup bluetooth speaker to keep in your car along with the phone mount. I find that the top volume of my phone isn't always loud enough to compete with traffic/car sounds when it isn't linked to the car's sound system.
posted by pammeke at 9:27 AM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by pammeke at 9:27 AM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I recommend Waze without hesitation. It does a pretty good job with unintuitive routes (I'd trust it in unfamiliar areas). Crowdsourced police location notification, if that's important to you. Google maps displays things that Waze users report (Google owns Waze).
posted by achrise at 9:39 AM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by achrise at 9:39 AM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've never had a car that interacts with my phone at all (I drive old cars). I just have an aux cable to plug my phone into my sound system so I can listen to directions from my phone's map app over my car's speakers. In cars that didn't have a stereo with an aux in, I had one of these thingies to use instead (mine wasn't Bluetooth but was the same idea, your audio from your phone can be tuned into the frequency on your car stereo).
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:41 AM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:41 AM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by sagc at 9:07 AM on June 14, 2018 [5 favorites]