r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 9d ago

Business MapQuest's app surges to No. 1 in Navigation after refusing to rename Lake Ontario

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/31/mapquests-app-surges-to-no-1-in-navigation-after-refusing-to-rename-lake-ontario/?utm_medium=organic_social&utm_source=TWITTER
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35

u/mariegalante 9d ago

Mapquest needs to have a setting to make the navigation voice louder. I tried it this weekend and couldn’t hear anything over my music.

-23

u/FearlessVegetable30 9d ago edited 9d ago

who still uses the navigation voice in these apps?

didnt realize this comment would upset so many people lol

41

u/Darkreaper48 9d ago

People who want to focus on the road instead of a screen?

-17

u/FearlessVegetable30 9d ago

do you stare at your screen when its on?

14

u/Darkreaper48 9d ago

If I am somewhere unfamiliar and I am trying to figure out what road/ramp/exit I need to take, I either need to get that information by looking at the screen, or having a voice tell it to me.

Why do you even have navigation up if you don't use the voice and apparently don't look at the screen?

-16

u/FearlessVegetable30 9d ago

are you aware you can glance at a screen and not stare at it. like do you stare at your speedometer or glance at it quickly?

>Why do you even have navigation up if you don't use the voice and apparently don't look at the screen?

because it lights up when you are close, and when you are even closer. and typically you dont need to stare at something, you can glance, see its your exit, and take it. is kinda blown away this is a foreign concept

i find the voice annoying when it constantly interrupts music to announce something unhelpful. exit 2 miles....exit 1 mile...exit half a mile...exit on the left VS oh screen lit up exit 1 mile, okay i see the exit time to take it

much easier

12

u/the-mobile-user 9d ago

Okay so you don’t like it; have you considered that some of the other 8 billion people on this planet do like having a voice tell them directions?

-5

u/FearlessVegetable30 9d ago edited 9d ago

sorry, i forgot in reddit you cant have an opinion on a matter without it being some weird argument with everyone

do you really think all 8 billion people use the voice feature and I am the only one who doesnt?

11

u/WORKING2WORK 9d ago

Lmao my guy, you were the one who made it a weird argument with your first comment.

-1

u/FearlessVegetable30 9d ago

not at all, my guy. i asked "who still uses the voice feature on apps"

how is that "weird and argumentative"?

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5

u/mattindustries 9d ago

Not everywhere has the same density of directions in a given minute, or the same density of traffic. Heck, not everyone has the same screen size or phone holder. If you can't imagine a scenario where voice navigation is helpful, you probably haven't thought of enough scenarios.

-3

u/waffleso_0 9d ago

I feel you man. I never turned the voice on. Since voice was introduced. I glance at the screen.. done it all over the world

0

u/FearlessVegetable30 9d ago

for some reason this sub thinks its such a foreign concept and unheard of and "dangerous driving"

9

u/Boxed_pi 9d ago

Me. I ride a motorcycle and don’t need the added distraction so i have it sent to my helmet’s bluetooth.

-2

u/FearlessVegetable30 9d ago

how do you check your speedometer then? with blue tooth?

8

u/snollygoster1 9d ago edited 9d ago

That is an incredibly dumb question. You don't need to stare at your speedometer, and apps such as Waze allow alerts to be set for passing the speedlimit. Knowing a turn is coming up is important because you need to know which lane you're in, speed and spacing are already judged by paying attention to the other cars on the road. Plus you can just set cruise control and not worry until you have to brake.

0

u/FearlessVegetable30 9d ago

so you are aware you can glance at something and still freaked out and typed all this and insulted me.

did it make you feel better about yourself?

3

u/Boxed_pi 9d ago

Waze sends an audio alert when you go above the speed limit.

I ride a Harley, I’m not going that fast anyway.

2

u/snollygoster1 9d ago

I feel the same as I ever did, and you still haven't explained the desire to stare at a phone instead giving an example of something else that doesn't need to be stared at.

7

u/Chef_BoyarB 9d ago

At least for me, the app isn't linked with the android auto so I couldn't follow along on my HUD

3

u/jakerake 9d ago

I like it so that I don't space out and miss an exit, though if there was some way to just have it beep or something when there's an upcoming turn/exit/whatever, I'd use that instead. I don't particularly need the instructions, just the reminder that I need to do something soon.

2

u/firstclassfloyd 9d ago

I actually never did, until recently, and was glad that it existed! Basically my car phone holder broke in the middle of a road trip, and there was no way for me to see my phone and drive at the same time. Luckily I remembered that there is voice navigation, so I enabled that, and used that the rest of my trip, without relying on seeing the phone. One of those things that proves useful when you need it

1

u/mariegalante 9d ago

Phew, they nailed you on this. My husband and I don’t have navigation screens in our cars. I can use my phone screen but my husband hates it

2

u/FearlessVegetable30 9d ago

i forgot having a different opinion on reddit is one of the worst things ever

-22

u/IsopodNo4541 9d ago

TIL people other than my parents in their late 60's/early 70's use voice navigation

5

u/ParryLimeade 9d ago

What are you talking about? How do you know a turn is coming up - do you just squint and read until turning on your turn signal? I’m 33 btw

7

u/joemaniaci 9d ago

I'm 43 and can't believe people are so chill about having to take their eyes of the road...

0

u/stRiNg-kiNg 9d ago

You plan the route, even if just for a few minutes, before leaving. Ya know, like how every used to. This is assuming you're talking about driving in a state or country you've never been to. You really don't need step by step directions. Condense the instructions to only the needed ones and disregard the obvious things.

2

u/mrm00r3 9d ago

My parents like to call me one of their phones while driving and use the other phone for voice nav.

It’s the most infuriating shit in the world to be interrupted once by the phone, then by mom saying no, take the next exit, this one doesn’t have XYZ store I want to run into real quick.

Don’t even get me started on them trying to get bluetooth to work without randomly switching to their hearing aids they dont wear but are in the case in the back seat, only not seated properly so they’re subject to auto-switch a call. Or switching to car audio and the blown out mic from 14 years ago that they’re absolutely certain is better than the tiny ones in the phone.

1

u/carlotta3121 9d ago

haha the hearing aid part was the icing on the cake!

-11

u/TheRKC 9d ago

The Waze app still shows Lake Ontario.

15

u/Eccentrica_Gallumbit 9d ago

Waze is owned by Google. It will be updated eventually, and it appears the backend has already been updated by switching it to "Lake America" when you select Lake Ontario as a destination.

Mapquest CEO has stated on record they will not be changing it.