What the Tech App of the Day: Speechify
BY JAMEY TUCKER, Consumer Technology Reporter
Most of us are drowning in things we’re supposed to read. Emails. Documents. Long articles, someone says, are important. When life gets busy, those things stack up fast.
That’s where Speechify comes in.
Speechify is a text-to-speech app that turns written content into audio using surprisingly natural-sounding voices. Instead of staring at a screen, you can listen while driving, walking, or doing something else.
How Speechify Works
Using the app is simple. You can copy and paste text directly into Speechify, scan a printed page using your phone’s camera, or share articles from Safari, email, or other apps. You can also connect the app to your Kindle library and turn any book into an audio book.
Once the text is loaded, you choose a voice and adjust the reading speed. Even increasing the speed slightly can save a lot of time when you’re listening to longer documents.
Speechify’s premium version offers a large selection of voices, including well-known celebrity voices, while the free version sticks to more basic options.
What Stands Out
What impressed me most is how natural the reading sounds. Speechify does a good job recognizing punctuation and phrasing, which makes the audio feel less robotic and more like a real person reading out loud.
One of my favorite features is using it to listen to long articles online. Paste in a link, press play, and the app handles the rest.
Free vs. Paid
Speechify does offer a free version, but it’s fairly basic and uses more robotic-sounding voices.
The premium version unlocks the most realistic voices, faster playback speeds, and additional
AI-powered tools. The paid version is $140 a year. There’s also a short trial version if you want to give it a try.
Who It’s For
Speechify is especially popular with students and people who learn better by listening, but it’s also useful for anyone who wants to get through more reading in less time.
The app is available for both iPhone and Android.
If you want to read more but never seem to have the time, Speechify is worth a look
