ModelTalker iOS Voices

A beta version of our system voices for iOS is now available via TestFlight for both iPhone and iPad. Our initial beta release does not have any bells or whistles, but we believe it will allow you to install your voice on iOS devices running iOS 17 or later, use your voice with a wide assortment of AAC apps, and select your voice as the default voice that your iPhone or iPad uses when reading text aloud from nearly any source. The following sections provide some pointers on installing and using your ModelTalker voice on iOS devices.

Installing the ModelTalker App

Before you can download and use your voice (or any of the donated ModelTalker voices available on our website) you must first install a copy of the ModelTalker app. The ModelTalker app provides two functions:

1. Install and manage ModelTalker voices.
2. Enter text to have it spoken aloud for testing ModelTalker voices.

You must send an email to beta@modeltalker.org to let us know that you want to be included in the beta test. In the email, please include 1) the email address you use with Apple, and 2) your ModelTalker username (please don’t send your password). With this information we will add you to the list of beta testers and you will receive an email from TestFlight with instructions on how to download and install your voice.

Using the ModelTalker App

When the ModelTalker app starts, you will see a page like the top figure shown here on the right. This is a page where you can enter text and have it spoken aloud by the selected voice. The selected voice is shown in the Voice bar above the text window. Tap the Speak button below the text window to hear the text spoken. The Stop button will cancel speaking immediately, and the Pause button with suspend speaking until the Speak button is tapped again to continue speaking from the point where it was paused. Tapping within the Text window will activate the keyboard, allowing you to add or edit text in the Window. If the keyboard obscures the Speak and other buttons, you can push the page up to expose the buttons. You can also Copy or Cut text from another app and Paste it into the text window to have it spoken aloud.

The Voice bar at the top of the screen will bring up the Voices page where you can select existing voices, add new voices or delete voices. The second image to the right illustrates the Voices page. It shows a list of voices that have been downloaded and installed from the ModelTalker.org site. A checkmark shows which voice is presently selected for use by the ModelTalker app (this selection does not affect any other apps that might also have a ModelTalker voice selected). The type of English for each voice is also indicated, for example, “en_US” indicates American English.

If you have loaded a voice that you do not wish to keep on the iOS device, swiping fully to the left on one of the voice bars will delete the voice from your device. Please be careful because the app does not ask for confirmation before deleting the voice (that’s coming soon). Fortunately, if you accidentally do delete your voice, it can be downloaded again from the website since removing the voice from the device does not remove the voice from the ModelTalker.org website.

Finally, tapping Add in the upper right of the page will allow you to download your voice, or a donor voice that you have saved as the default download in our website. Tapping Add brings up the third page illustrated on the right where you can enter your ModelTalker username and password to have your voice downloaded and installed in your device. Remember that both your username and password are case sensitive and must be entered exactly as you provided them when registering. If you have forgotten your password, it can be reset by logging into the website on another device and requesting a password reset. Also, while the ModelTalker app is free to all voice bankers, your voice is not and must be paid for before it can be downloaded.

Using Your Voice in Other Apps

The coolest thing about the ModelTalker app is that it also installs your voice as an iOS system voice that can be accessed by most speech-enabled apps or by standard system features that allow you to select voices and have them read selected regions of text aloud. To select your voice as the default system voice, open the Settings, scroll down to Accessibility, and in the Accessibility page select Spoken Content. In the Spoken Content page, select Voices and then English (right now, all ModelTalker voices are English variants). In the page with English voices, scroll down to ModelTalker.org and select it. That will bring up a list of all the ModelTalker voices currently installed on the device. Tap the Voice that you want to use as the system voice and it will become the default voice for spoken content.

Known Issues

1. Rate Control in Settings – We are in the process of implementing the speaking rate control, but it is presently not enabled.
2. Pitch Control in Settings – We are in the process of implementing the speaking pitch control, but it is presently not enabled.
3. Word and Sentence Highlighting – In apps that track speech by highlighting each word as it is spoken, the highlighting is presently not well synchronized with the speech.
4. Words Spelled Out – Under some conditions, the app will spell a word rather than speaking it. This happens most frequently with words at the end of a sentence that have quotes around the word.