Change is difficult, especially when we talk about things that have been with us for years and to which we have become accustomed. For example, the voice of Google Maps; Being one of the most used applications, whether on Android Auto in the car or on mobile, it is not surprising that it is immediately recognizable by many people.
Today, this voice will disappear, although it is not clear when or how. What is clear is that the voice will not be the samebecause that’s what her voice actress, Nikki García, announced on her personal account on X (Twitter). A decision that will undoubtedly affect the experience, although we don’t know how yet.
Nikki Garcia rose to fame after revealing that her voice was the default when using the Google Maps Navigation in Spanish. Therefore, it was a different voice than the one used in other Google apps, such as Google Assistant, due to the need for the app to recite instructions in a way that was accurate and understandable to anyone who spoke Spanish.
In fact, Google Maps is not the only reason why Nikki García’s voice is familiar to millions of Spaniards; Another of her most recognized works is that of the voice of Renfe Cercanías. As if that weren’t enough, he has also voiced a multitude of animated characters, including in works such as The Simpsons, family guy And Aladdinin addition to video games like Metroid Terror.
But his performance on Google Maps is perhaps the one that has earned him the most notoriety in the era of social networks. There is no shortage of occasions when García has been the protagonist of memes and jokes, such as the time he was asked for an address on the street and was about to use the tone he uses on Google Maps.
The same day I released my first single in Spanish is also the day I stop being the voice of Google Maps.
It is clearly the end of an era.
After so many years of accompanying you, I hope that now you want to accompany me.– Nikki García (@nikkigarcia_es) September 12, 2024
Although García did not explain the reasons for this change, nor if it was her own decision or that of Google, the actress took the opportunity to announce the launch of her first single in Spanish. And as if all of the above were not enough, Nikki García He is also a singerreleasing her first solo album in 2017; Today, for the first time, she sings in Spanish in a song called The Best Actress.
We have no doubt that Nikki Garcia is the best for many, and the big doubt now is who will replace it, or even “what” will replace it. The use of artificial intelligence to generate synthetic voices is one of the great controversies of 2024, with cases like Scarlett Johansson and ChatGPT. Google has not yet announced whether it will use AI to reproduce the routes on Google Maps, or whether it will hire another actress or actor. In any case, the change should not be immediate, since in theory Google can continue to use the voices already recorded by Nikki García.
