Name: Autio - Travel Companion
Rating: 4.84058 (3588 reviews)

User Reviews for Autio - Travel Companion

4.84 out of 5

3.6K Ratings

3 years ago, gjb9

This is an excellent app

I am a startup lawyer and I help a ton of app developers. I have pitched this exact app to a bunch of them because I wanted to see an app like this made. The teams all concluded the same thing: it would take a Herculean effort before any revenues would come. This would be a passion project more than a simple utility application. I believe that is correct but I think the team at here hear have found the right people who are passionate about learning and sharing because this app is excellent. The experience is great and the content is solid. This is a perfect application for someone who travels a lot and tends to have their nose buried in a guidebook or loves reading the plaques at historic sites. I’m so excited this app is here.

3 years ago, MedJenn

Inaccurate and with bugs

I’d love to give this a 5 star and review and maybe in time once the bugs are works out I will. However, the information on many “stories” is rather inaccurate. I will give one as example here. The story on East Stroudsburg, PA states it was originally named “Danville” when it was actually named “Dansbury”. Danville is a completely different town in PA. Also, you reference the historic train depot in East Stroudsburg which is a rather significant piece of their history. You also wrongly named that as the Pocono Depot I believe. The train depot is actually Dansbury Depot, always was and still is as it ran its last route through there in 1970. Some very large inaccuracies on this topic here. Lastly, once you complete one story it automatically feeds into the next and you get “charged” for a second story which was not the intended. Some large bugs and inaccuracies to work through before I can rate this higher. I give two stars because the idea of it is great, but it needs to be factual.

3 years ago, Srinimaverick

Neat and informational app but inconsistent sound quality and still buggy.

I was looking for an app like this since I first started using an app GyPSy on a trip to Maui. I like HearHere and got a three-year subscription. It’s great to listen to while driving around but there is one annoying issue - sound quality is inconsistent (especially the narration by Bill Werlin). Need to turn the volume up and down based on the speakers, and Bill in particular is some times hard to hear even at max volume. Also, there could have been a couple more basic features - search by address or location, or map out a route and download selected or all audios along that route. It also crashes occasionally. Nonetheless, I recommend this app with a solid 4 stars. It’s not as good as GyPSy but complements it in my Travel apps folder. I hope to see improvements with time.

2 years ago, Bikeneil

Normally I wouldn’t pay for something like this

But we were going on a road trip and I figured, this would be a good investment for some entertainment. Well, we’ve used it on 3 road trips in the western US and have learned a lot of things you wouldn’t normally get from a textbook—and it presents the pieces to you when you’re right in the area each thing happened! Pair this with Mike Rowe’s 10-minute “The Way I Heard It” podcast episodes and you’ll keep your brain going on your drive. This was worth it. I wish it was just a one time fee and not a subscription, but I get that they have to pay for all the research and all that goes into making this app. I think it’s well worth it!

3 years ago, Dede9075

Awesome Awesome App!

We recently traveled from OH to VA to see Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello with a short side trip to Schuyler (pronounced Skyler) VA to see “Walton’s Mountain”. Listening to the stories of the people, places and history while we were on the West Virginia Turnpike was so interesting and all the other stories we heard while on our trip. We even started listening while driving around our home town! We immediately subscribed to the 3-year plan because we KNOW we will use it often. Good job to all the people behind this amazing app! Thank you!!

2 years ago, Azz3879

Consistent and irritating bugs that make it frustrating to use this app.

Love, LOVE, the idea behind this app, but if it doesn’t notify me of the fact that there are stories to listen to, it’s nearly worthless. Yes, I have every notification on, every notification asked for allowed. I have deleted and reinstalled, multiple time, as recently as this morning, and for reasons beyond me, no notifications. Zero. Nada. None. When it works, and it used to, as I did get notifications regularly, it was great, but as of the latest update…. Frustrating and not worth the value it brings. NOTE: The notification reminding me to resume listening after 30 minutes…. Works every time. The notification to tell me when there’s something nearby worth listening to, nope!

1 year ago, KGJG KGJG

Good stories, but doesn’t function well for solo traveler

I use carplay and the notifications don’t pop up or make a sound to know that there’s something nearby. If I happen to see that there was one on my phone and tap on it, it will start playing. But it then continues with a bunch of stories that are either way behind me or ahead of me. I’d like it to turn off and go back to my music. Would also be great if there was a setting to just automatically play something when I’m nearby. I’m mostly driving an RV by myself and don’t like to be distracted by fiddling around with buttons. Those 2 adjustments would make it a 5 star.

2 years ago, mr fireman1232

Awesome App!

I am a nerd when it comes to history. I have always wanted to travel around the country and stop at every historical marker I came across. This app makes that a whole lot easier to do. While traveling to Missouri over the weekend, I learned a lot of history of various places along the way. Now I can’t wait to do some more traveling, or I may just sit at home and listen about places that interest me. If you are traveling anytime soon, I highly recommend getting this app.

3 years ago, Fix this ABC!!!

Misleading

The app is misleading. I signed up because it definitely sounds interesting as we will be taking a road trip for spring break. However there is no account information other than a quick notification saying “you have 5 free stories left” then disappears. No directions tell you how to locate, choose, etc. I clicked on a pop up and it begins reading-well, there goes one free story. I try to move around-oops, there goes another free story. If you want information about your account, apparently you have to then email them…so do I need to cancel before I’m charged? Please be more clear! This has potential, but definitely needs way more clarification for new users.

3 years ago, T_Mo9

If I want politics, I’ll turn on CNN.

This seemed like a fun app, so I tried it out and listened to some surrounding towns. I live one town over from Newtown, CT where the Sandy Hook school shooting took place. So I wasn’t surprised that it was mentioned as an event that took place in the town. But I was shocked to listen to just 35 seconds of Newtown history, and then a minute and a half rant about gun control laws and our country’s guns per capita and murder rates. I almost thought it was a joke it was so blatant. Don’t believe me? Click on Newtown, CT and see for yourself. Regardless of your political stances on guns or anything else, I can’t believe this would pass through the editorial process and be published. Sorry Kevin Costner… I can’t go more than 1 star and I definitely won’t be paying for it.

3 years ago, HHCov

Potential but Uncertain

On a recent outing and decided to try the app as I knew my father who can’t read anymore, would love hearing the history while driving of certain points along the drive. The app promises 5 free stories before choosing a subscription. I only got 3. I chose to it listen to some of the stories because I looked ahead to the topics but I think it may have counted the ones I skipped as the free stories? From what I heard, they were interesting and well delivered, but I’m uncertain about subscribing but I love the concept. A little concern is how it counted my “free” stories and if it has hashed out all the bugs and working ability.

3 years ago, AV8NDAD

Interesting & Informative… When it works!

We live in the Mountain West and love to travel and adventure throughout the western states. We subscribed on a trip from L.A. to Salt Lake City and loved the stories, but after 2-3 stories, the app would quit playing and just spin and buffer, despite having full bars of coverage and being able to surf the ‘net. Force quitting and restarting the app sometimes worked, but that just became too frustrating (and dangerous while driving) so we went back to satellite radio. It would be great if the app allowed you to plan a trip and pre-download stories, even if they auto-delete after a certain number of days. Until then, this is just a 2-star app.

3 years ago, Michigan Mike

Learn something new!

So many times in our travels we pass by historical areas without learning anew. This app is awesome because it affords you the ability to actually learn about and relive relevant historical events that took place and learn about the surrounding landscape. I will be using this app and look forward to learning about history that I otherwise would have missed and also allow me to set foot on spots our forefathers walked upon.

7 days ago, Brand Nameless

Good Content Clunky Interface

The app content with the brief history and culture stories is interesting. The interface, however, especially on Car Play is pretty poor. I have little idea what is going on th the background, however the map is unavailable in CarPlay and it loads stories, I assume based on distance, that sometimes load, sometimes start over and sometimes just fail or go away all while messing up other audio apps. Would be way better to have a map about what stories are ahead, what you just passed and what else is nearby.

3 years ago, JBPhotogrpahy

Amazing Entertainment

I take a lot of road trips, and music isn’t always the best to keep my mind from all of the driving. This app is brilliant, and helps the time fly by! I have enjoyed watching the catalog of stories grow. Recently listening to fun ghost stories while driving from Charleston to Savannah. Maybe the best testimony came from my 25 year old son, who, while listening during a drive through New Mexico said “This app is really cool.”

1 year ago, Ally16801

Not enough stories

I live in the center of Pennsylvania and there were 5 stories in like a 3 hour radius from my area. The big story from my city was “the courthouse was the place of the Sandusky child sex abuse scandal” Of course they said some other things but for real! First no one wants to hear about a child sex scandal while hiking. I’m close to Penn state university. Plenty of nice things they could have talked about. I’m sure anyone that was involved in that hearing does not want to hear about it highlighting the area while hiking. Poor taste in general. Not a fan of the app at all. Too overpriced for literally nothing. Not nearly enough content. I would give it one stars a thousand times over

2 years ago, LetPammyPlay

Location based not gps based.

We love gps gypsy guide app tours and have been looking for an app that covers more scenic areas. This app worked great until we were in an area of PCH HWY1 that had no cell phone service. This app will not play if not connected to the internet. We switched to Big Sur gypsy guide until we had cell phone service again. Also, this app talks about places or history that may be 30 miles away and plays continuously. Haven’t quite figured out how to get it to play stories ONLY for the road we’re traveling on.

3 years ago, diverdude90

Exactly what a road trip needs

This app hits at a very precise idea: curiosity. No matter how much you travel in the US there is ALWAYS more to learn. I’ve used HH multiple times on road trips in the past year (cross-country, up east coast, down the west coast) and it’s always interesting what I find. Some areas of US are densely populated with stories (California coast) while others aren't (I-80 through Nevada) but nonetheless, they are a joy to listen to.

1 year ago, Indy Chris Miller

Subtle Western Woke

Headed out West and tried the trial - The 5 stories I listened to in the trial seemed like the hero is never Roosevelt or an American explorer. With Autio, the native Americans are always the heroes and the white man/explorers are the villain. Never mind and mentions very little about the exploration or engineering feats achieved at that time. An example would be with Mt Rushmore: there is so much more history/how it was done that I wanted to learn about after visiting it. But the focus seemed to be on the Lakota Sioux being forced out. I can greatly appreciate the history there but I wish that wasn’t the sole focus. Would love to see the app being more well-rounded.

2 weeks ago, Rocky Mountain Sue

Almost perfect

Love hearing the history of areas & especially some of the colorful residents! I wish each story would start with stating the title. Often I have no idea the location until the middle or end of the story. Also, I wish it was easier to rewind - I’m often distracted and want to go back and listen again but if it’s too close to the end, I can’t without getting into my phone. I travel solo so most often that’s not possible.

2 years ago, guirgutdg

Pronunciation

We are enjoying this and look forward to using it again but narrators or producers really need to make a quick call to the State Travel board or any state native and get their pronunciation correct. There were a dozen mispronounced names or words listening to the Utah state stories. Just a tiny bit of homework would have fixed that and the mispronounced words or names really distracted from the stories. And it made you doubt the correctness of the facts.

3 years ago, Kghornsten

Enjoyed the trip up 5

In my adventure up highway 5 I used up my 5 free trips too soon. I so much enjoyed the complete and historical descriptions that came with so many stops along the way. Theoretically speaking, it was far better than reading the history of the northern California stops up 5. Very complete. Thanks from a senior citizen who has spent much too much time at home lately…a real adventure from home.

3 years ago, zbones

Fantastic App!

This is a really wonderful idea! I’ve listened to a few of the stories around my home area and they are incredibly well done! I am so looking forward to my next road trip when I can have this as a companion to my journeys and learn more about the area I am visiting! The voiceover talent is fantastic especially some of the celebrities who have added their voices to this! I highly recommend!!

3 years ago, lisz88

Perfect road trip companion

I’m so impressed with the stories on this app. They’re narrated wonderfully. I’m not huge on podcasts so I was weary of downloading this app. I love that this app is location based story telling vs random story telling/ gossip. I even enjoyed listening to a couple stories from my hometown. Would highly recommend to anyone that’s curious about where they live and where they’re going.

2 years ago, Ivanka and Tiffany

What a treat!!

Professionally produced and narrated stories that transport you to another time. Often as I drive through the places narrated in the app, I can almost feel as if I’m there whether a center or a decade ago. Countless discoveries in my own hometown. Look forward to taking the app on the family road trip. I know the soothing voices of the narrators will keep my daughter entertained for a bit.

3 years ago, surfNewport

Perfect travel companion

We’re a roadtripping family and have been listening to HearHere for about two years. The stories’ library exploded this year and made our treks from DC to Charleston, then Idaho/Wyoming/Utah so much more interesting. It’s true that the app occasionally crashes, but the content is worth it and I’m sure the developers are working on continual improvements, which is what I’ve noticed since they launched. Of particular interest are the narrators. I stumbled upon Rodney Ingram’s voice and had to do a double take. A Broadway lead actor from Aladdin and Phantom is a voice on this app?! Who else am I missing?! Would be fun to be able to see a full talent list. Great work! Love this app.

2 years ago, Jasonindahouse

Worth it for travelers

Sometimes the small town descriptions get old. ‘This town has a corn festival.’ ‘This town has a watermelon festival’. But the Native American history is awesome, as are the mountain men/pioneer stories. I do wonder if they gradually add more stories, and/or replace the lowest rated ones with higher rated stories. I haven’t been able to tell if they add content. If not, a three year subscription would be a little exploitive, and a myopic business strategy that only a Californian or New Yorker would think up.

3 years ago, smoff76

Too much slavery and Indian history. Could definitely be better

This app started out good so we bought the annual membership. Come to find out most of the history focuses on Indian history and lots of talk about slavery. Not to say that’s not a part of history but I’m tired of it being the only focus these days. More brainwashing. Disappointed. I would like to hear more history about the cities and I know there’s plenty of info that could be included instead.

2 years ago, goodgollyallthenamesaretaken

Waste of money

We "test drove" this app and enjoyed the first 5 locations. It just so happened that there was a mother's day special for a few dollars off the yearly price so I subscribed. When we went out for our next adventure the app would not work and said we used our 5 free locations, I thought something went wrong with the subscription - nope. The app store shows we subscribed (as does my bank account). I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app, rebooted the phone. I finally used the in-app contact with no response after a week. This was a waste of my $28.

2 years ago, Rincon -

Best App for road trips

Exactly the type of information we should all be wanting to absorb when traveling thru parts unknown, or even seemingly known. I’ve learned more about my hometown from Autio then in just being here. I love everything about it. Cool when folks like Kevin Costner and Phil Jackson drop in with a story even now and again, too. Five big stars!

3 years ago, Dr. FrankM

Travel Buddy

This is the best travel companion by far! The famous voices narrating the stories are a pretty cool feature. There are always new stories being added weekly and you can always find some cool facts about the places you are driving by which is nice. The app lets you focus on the road and admiring the scenic view and not being on your phone. The best app ever!!

2 years ago, Stumusic

Made for Road Trips, but no Car Play?

I was quite surprised that this app is not listed as an option to add to Car Play. It’s designed for using on Road Trips… that you take… IN A CAR! Also, I used the contact option in the app to make this very suggestion and got a “mail undeliverable” reply. That doesn’t bode well for customer support. I also wish it was easier to choose the stories one might want to listen to. I’d like to be able to see a listing of all the stories related to my location, within a customizable radius. The interface feels a bit clunky. So, I’m a bit disappointed to have paid for three years, but perhaps these issues will be addressed in a soon-to-come update, especially the ability to add the app to Car Play.

2 years ago, Campers of SC

Love this app!!

This app has made our last few road trips so much more interesting! Lots of fun stories, historical info and details that we would never know just driving by an area. I have recommended to many friends and fellow travelers because it’s educational, interesting and helps the driving time fly by…

3 years ago, Edw@rd1234

My area’s history

I’ve lived along the Crystal Coast for 10 years and thought I knew pretty much all of the history in this area but I was wrong and with this App I learned a lot more about the history around me. I’m going to use this app wherever I go to learn the history information on every place I go.

3 years ago, M_Ski

Pricey and glitchy

I really really really wanted to like this $40 annual app, but after a couple of hours, I was ready to throw my phone out of the window. Pros: informative narration as you drive past places of interest. CONS: OMG mispronunciations galore, for example, “arachnid” and “Rutherford.” Also, the narrations are at different volumes!!!!!!!!!! Very irritating, as they change from a whisper to a shout and everywhere in between. Informative app if you have an extra $40 and some Xanax.

2 years ago, Texan in the snow

Great travel app

Like the short stories. Can stop and pickup quickly. Interesting stories beyond tourist stories. Just wish there was a cheaper monthly or a upgrade path If you want to buy the year or three years option after the first month. I was not sure how good it was going to be.

3 years ago, Savvvy Girl

Road Trip Companion

Do you ever think about the statues or buildings on your road trips? Well now there’s an app to tell you all the stories and facts about all the cool things that you’re driving on your long trips. It’s got great audio tidbits with some pretty famous voices and it just adds that extra it factor to your road trips.

2 years ago, CAMSWPhD

A traveling companion not to be missed

This is a great service. My family and I travel often and the stories we hear are informative and interesting. Even listening near my home has introduced me to things I didn’t know. Thank you. I will be recommending this app to all of my fellow travelers.

12 months ago, DrGloriana

Wishing for a Little More…

I love hearing all the stories when I drive but wish there was a little more… - stories that don’t repeat - stories that align with the direction I’m driving. -stories that are near where I’m driving and not 100 miles away in a direction that I am not driving -stories that are told before I’ve passed an area and not 1 hour later -stories that automatically load into the app so I’m not playing with the app while I drive I drive to many unique places. The stories make the places I drive by much more interesting , plus keeps me alert. But the app is also clunky and non intuitive. So many times I’ve stopped listening because I can’t mess with the app while I drive.

3 years ago, edandjude

Absolutely delightful

On the way home from a week long, three state road trip, we stumbled upon this app, and it changed our lives forever. We immediately went all in, and subscribed to the whole enchilada!!! To say we love the informative, witty, well written and well spoken stories is an understatement.

2 years ago, Habits 4 Life

Great Stories and Information

I only listen to three stories before I decided to buy the three years subscription. It’s such a wealth of knowledge and interesting facts of where I’m traveling and what there is to do and see. Things I didn’t know even in my own hometown. Thanks! 😊😊

2 years ago, 48hitman

Informational app or political commentary????

I can’t tell you how excited I was to find this app and the fact it has such “big name” backing made it even more so. That is until I started using it and found the informational commentary also included political comments based on current affairs. I don’t need any app or anyone telling me how I should think. PLEASE just give us the facts and realize we are smart enough to decide on our own without your help.

2 years ago, happysoulliving

Great idea in theory…

I was so excited about this app. We were going to explore the Alamo and some other places full of history. There were a few stories in the area so I downloaded the app. The couple stories they did have were just a couple minutes long. So much history. So many stories to be told and there weee mere minutes offered. I’m sure this is great for some people but a few minutes worth of stories is definitely not worth the paying money for unfortunately.

3 years ago, Joanne3817

Love the idea of this app but….

I was so excited to see an app like this. I just wish the area that I am passionate about has absolutely no stories. Hayward, Wisconsin has so much history with logging as well as Ojibwa Indian history. It is currently a very popular tourist destination. The Lumberjack World Championships and the American Birkebeiner cross country ski race is hosted there. Visitors come from all over the world. And yet… there are no historical stories of this area?

1 year ago, Jeremytrucker

Trucker

I am a trucker LOVE this app I love learning about the different stories and history of the areas I run and just little tid bits and I even have saved some stuff I would love to go see one day!! That I had no idea was there before this app!! Would recommend 10/10!!!

2 years ago, Mindfulskatergirl

The app I never thought I needed but always wanted

This app has enhanced our road trips so much. I’ve learned so much about towns throughout this country and landmarks that we always passes through but never thought much of. Bravo! Highly recommend.

3 years ago, Sting Raymundo

Road Trippin with my two favorite allies

Great to use on road trips with the family. I love hearing about places and stories of peoples unique lives. We recently were traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and were entertained by here hear the whole time. Thanks for giving me unique insight to US History.

2 years ago, NanaJune

Best travel companion ever

I love road trips and the stories in Autio have guided me through travels on both the east and west coasts of America. They are entertaining, educational and humorous. The app works seamlessly as you travel from one area to another. Wish Autio was around back in the days when I had an RV!

1 year ago, Zeke_A

Extreme data collection

This app now collects data on how you drive in an effort to market car insurance to you. They have not made clear precisely what data they collect and have not offered a way to prevent such data collection, short of turning of location devices which would completely deprecate the utility of the app. The privacy description in the App Store should be updated immediately to reflect this, and an opt out function should be clearly defined and provided.

2 years ago, allpasswords are taken

False information

Downloaded this a while back and was disappointed with inaccurate pictures on the 2nd article I opened. Today we were driving through our state and, again decided to try this app. First article we pulled up was full of inaccuracies. I would love this app if I could trust the content. Reminds me of the tv commercial ….”They can’t put anything on the internet that’s not true”. I wish.

Description

Autio - Audio for Travel *** Apple App of the Day, Apps We Love, & New & Noteworthy *** Webby Award Winner for Best Travel App 2022 Ready to take travel to the next level? Autio has 10,000+ location-based audio stories from coast-to-coast. Try your first 5 stories free - no strings attached - then choose a plan for 30 Days, 1 Year, or 3 Years. Ever curious about the deeper story behind that bronze historical marker you passed on the highway? Autio is an invitation to discover — a hands-free experience that delights, informs, & entertains by fostering a deeper connection with the people, places, & histories of the land you are traveling through. With rave reviews from Forbes, Travel & Leisure, The New York Times, Outside, TechCrunch, & more! FEATURES: NARRATED BY YOUR FAVORITE VOICES — Many of our stories are narrated by voices you know and love like Kevin Costner, Phil Jackson, John Lithgow, and more. DISCOVER INTERESTING STORIES — Autio notifies you when you’re in range of new stories you haven’t heard yet. ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW — New stories are released weekly, so no two trips are ever the same. NATIONWIDE COVERAGE — Unique stories from coast-to-coast. FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS — Audio stories keep your eyes off your phone and on your beautiful surroundings. HOW IT WORKS As you travel, Autio serves up stories based on your geographic location & interests. The audio vignettes, generally 2-3 minutes in length, tell the history around you, painting a multi-dimensional picture you’re unlikely to get from a history book or visitor's guide. Autio answers the questions we all ask as the odometer turns. ABOUT AUTIO Humans are moved by stories. Stories that make us laugh and cry. They move us to come together and do amazing things. Since the dawn of time, stories have been the way in which values and knowledge are passed from one generation to the next — each adding their wisdom and experience along the way. It’s time to connect with the sum of our experience, to enrich our lives with the stories of today, and to inspire the great storytellers yet to come.