Whether users are nonspeaking, at risk of speech loss or have a speech disability, iOS 18’s accessibility features have solutions for communication.
With Live Speech, users can type what they want to say or select from suggested or saved phrases, and their mobile device then speaks the text out loud through a digital voice. This feature also allows users to save specific phrases in categories, allowing them to quickly pull up their morning coffee order or their weekly work questions.
For users at risk of losing their ability to speak, Personal Voice can create a voice that sounds just like them. To do this, they must read along with a random set of text prompts to record 15 minutes of audio, which is then securely saved and stored on their mobile device.
Switch Control allows users to navigate and interact with what’s on their device’s screen through voiced or voiceless sounds — like an S-sound or a mouth pop.
Thanks to the Listen for Atypical Speech feature, Apple software can recognize a wider range of atypical speech patterns, including those affected by such acquired or progressive conditions as cerebral palsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or stroke.
These are just a few of Apple’s speech-focused accessibility features for iOS 18. Click here to learn about more options.