There are people who use Google Maps without voice navigation, because the piercing Dutch voice makes them tooé much goes through marrow and bone. Fortunately, you can always switch to another navigation app on your iPhone, but hey… Surely it would be nice if you could use all the functions of Google Maps without being annoyed by it. Our colleagues from Androidworld discovered that a Flemish voice for Google Maps is coming, which can already be heard at some moments. The vote is not yet complete and a rollout could take a while.
A month ago, a Flemish motorist noticed that Google Maps sometimes gave a different voice, especially at times when the internet connection was lost. By switching to offline navigation, the voice could be heard. There are now more people who have heard the voice, although it does not always happen while navigating. This gives the impression that it is an error and that Google is not yet ready to officially use or test the voice. The navigation voice for Belgium is female by the way, just like that of the Netherlands.
It is (also for Android- users) is not yet possible to change the navigation voice via the settings of the app. Google already answered a question in 2020 about how to avoid the ‘unpleasant Dutch voice‘ of Google Maps might change. There was talk of a newer voice, but to be honest it didn't make us any wiser. You still can't change the voice.
Americans can: they can tap the account icon in Google Maps and then go to Settings > Go navigation. Under the heading ‘Sound and Voice’ they can choose a different voice, for example American English or British English. with Google Assistant it has been possible for some time to choose a Belgian voice. Let's just hope that the new voice is so popular that the Dutch will also drive it en masse…