Autio: Road Trip & Travel App

I saw a recommendation for this app, and thought it sounded like a good idea as I was about to leave on a trip to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. This was the first time traveling in this area, and I thought getting the audio info while driving would be great. I will admit that the stories and information provided in the app are great, will good narrators. The bad part of the app is the navigation of the app and the overall GPS capabilities. Our rental car had CarPlay, so I was expecting to start driving pull up the app with a map, and either select stories on the map, or have them automatically play as we approached an area. Instead, the app would play one story after another, with not real relation to where we were. The app seems to want to play what is the next closest story that has not yet been played. So after listening to the stories in the Olympic peninsula, it started to play stories on islands, and in Canada that were nowhere near where we were. Selecting what we wanted to listen to was challenging, because it wants you to create and use a playlist which is not viable to do within CarPlay while driving. It was very frustrating to extract the stories we wanted to hear in the places where we wanted to hear them. At the end of the trip, we spent a day in Seattle, and the app is extremely worthless in a big city. The map is plastered with all these markers for stories, that I guess would just randomly play based on gps, and what was close by that was not played, even if it was miles away. We stopped using it out of frustration. I have used other travel info GPS apps that are so much better than this. I think Autio put too much effort into the stories, with very little real world usability testing. The apps that get it right are "Kauai Revealed Drive Tour". It was perfect, because it played the relevant info as you approached a site, not just because it is the closest unplayed story. The other great travel app is "GPSmyCity". Although it does not have narration, just text to voice, it provides a walking tour with a map. For over 1500 cities around the world. This would be a much better experience in Seattle compared to Autio. I purchased a subscription because I expected a great app, but I will say I am extremely disappointed. There needs to be a lot usability work on this app before I could recommend it to anyone.

This app service sounds great. Unfortunately, after I purchased the subscription, it locked me out, with no way to reset my password, because their website has a terrible mobile phone interface. So, this is a travel app and service you can’t access on a phone. Great work there Autio. Get it if you like having to deal with travel headaches I guess

The AP started sending a multitude of alerts many repeat. I estimate 30 notifications in 3-4 hours. Wrote to them for assistance. Response took 3 days and then they wanted more information about the problem. I reiterated the issues. No reply. I’ve written 4 times to find out how to receive a refund and no reply. Awful experience. The app isn’t usable with this many notifications. It’s a glitch that they aren’t willing to acknowledge or fix. Terrible!!! And rude!!!

This is a great way to learn about the places we visit

I travel a lot for work. I also have a short attention span. The stories & information are always interesting& just the right amount of time. Sometimes, if I’m in an area for an extended period of time, I’ll change my preferences just to squeeze in even more learning. I kinda wish I had to travel more so I use the app more often.

I jumped at the idea of this signed up with multi year plan just before a trip from LA to northern Oregon. It didn’t work past the oregon line and works so inconsistently everywhere else I forget that I have it. No response from the company. Very disappointed

There are some routes that we’ve driven so many times that I’d believe there is nothing new to see or learn. Enter Autio to turn that idea upside down. Whether traveling cross country or through a new city, the stories Autio provides are always an interesting window into the culture of an area. I’d highly suggest this app to anyone who travels.

We are looking forward to extensive travel in our rv this summer, and can't wait to here the local stories as we move about the country. Very fun to listen to.

I like to hear the history and stories about the places I travel through and visit.

My husband and I travel a lot and we really enjoy the stories on Autio. Learning about the history of places we travel through or too is great. I highly recommend this app for anyone who travels.