Got my new Brax3, this week. Steep learning curve! I’ve been using iPhones for many years. One pressing question: What can I do regarding using a gps-linked mapping app while driving my Subaru? Until now, with my iPhone connected, all I would need to do was speak “Hey Siri - directions to ____” and Apple maps would come up on the car’s screen, with audible prompts for highway info. It also provided info on traffic conditions ahead.
IS THERE anything similar now possible to use on my new Brax3??
Hope so.
There is no “smart voice assistant” where you ask for directions via voice, this hasn’t been something the open source / privacy focused crowd has cracked just yet (for regular use).
You can use Android Auto to integrate with your car, it does require some Google apps being installed. There are some “stubs” for some of these Google apps meaning you can “fake” that they are installed. Or you install the Google apps needed, then take away all their permissions. I believe a Rob Braxman video describes this.
For navigating with voice output of directions (turn here, etc.) CoMaps (default open map app) can use the system “TTS Engine”. The most reliable but sounding a bit robotic is RHVoice, which OrganicMaps wrote up a guide for using here. (FYI: CoMaps is forked form OrganicMaps)
The best sounding TTS Engine we know if is SherpaTTS, but it is a bit buggy in setting up.
For traffic conditions ahead, this is also proprietary so won’t work with CoMaps. But Magic Earth from Aurora / Play Store does have crowd-sourced conditions, and while it has a good privacy policy, is not open and is no longer free (but it is only $1 per year!). This used to be the default maps app in iodéOS until just a month ago when they changed their policies to no longer be free.
So, I’ve installed android auto through the aurora store. I also have my plex music app, which is android auto compatible. I plug in my phone and android auto pops up and says no compatible apps are installed. I tried loading in google maps to see if it detected that and also doesn’t.
Is there something I need to do to allow the apps to communicate together, so auto sees the compatible apps? I don’t see any way to do it in the app settings. I don’t have to log into google for that do I?
Yes I think that is right, the pre-installed one is a “stub” and is just there so that the underlying configure is in place but it isn’t really Android Auto. So enabling in “Preinstalled Apps” and then updating from Aurora store are the first steps.
@mike8itall after that you will again need to install various Google apps (it will let you know which ones) or you can get “stubs” for them as I mentioned. Check this post for a bit more.
I have tried both map apps mentioned above and I cannot find how to enable voice directions. I can find no native TTS engine on my Brax to enable. Also no voice to text engine either. Any Help would be greatly appreciated!
I also installed both of the text to speech engines mentioned above and I cannot get them to integrate in the system. They indicate that they are installed/operating but when I try to use either map app the option to enable speech is not allowed. [Yes, I downloaded in the apps the appropriate languages/and voice types.]
I went into Aurora store and Magic Earth is there. Installed and it works ! I was able to choose a language pack downloaded [RHVOICE] in the system settings and It works!
Rik, I hope tour well. When you point to the post that reference using “stubs”. How do I add the new lines of code? I have work with linux before and like meany others I just copy and paste someone else work. So please pardon my ignorance.
If I go the easy route and install google maps on android auto, how can I stop google from collecting any data?
Sorry for the long spill and God Bless
The “stubs” are just apps that have been made to mimic Google appa without the tracking. They are just apk files you install on the phone like any other app
. So enabling in “Preinstalled Apps” and then updating from Aurora store are the first steps.