Great app for speech apraxia
While this is not necessarily intended as an AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) app, it's actually the best one I found for my situation after evaluating about a dozen different AAC apps.
My wife had brain surgery and lost speech (hopefully temporarily). She still has full comprehension and can come up with the words and type on her phone fine. I needed an app that did two basic things: display what she typed in big text and full screen, and speak for her. 90% of the time she types what she wants to say and just shows people her phone. In a group where maybe she doesn't want to show everyone her phone individually, then she has the app speak for her. While some of the AAC apps have features for a broader range of disabilities, with things like pictures, advanced predictive text, AI/natural voices, etc, I didn't need any of that. Most were expensive monthly subscriptions and this app was a very small one time purchase to get the speech feature. Because it uses the iOS voices available in accessibility (there are a LOT now), that works just fine for "natural enough" speech. We found we like the "Zoe" voice.
Being able to quickly adjust the size of the text displayed, and the shake to speak are great features. If I had any suggestions it would be two, and the first is simple: put a speak link/button on the main screen. It's three taps currently to tap done, then the "send to" button, then "read aloud." Shake to speak is great but just tapping a button right when she's done typing would be great. The one line options at the bottom could just have this added so it's "clear / speak / done" instead of just "clear" and "done". The second might be a bit more work, but iOS 17 lets apps request to use "personal voice" now. You can train iOS with your own voice, and then apps can use that for text to speech, but the app has to be programmed for that. I think it would be a game changer for people in a situation like my wife's to have an app "speak" with their own voice (assuming you trained it prior to losing speech or used recordings/AI to train personal voice in iOS).
Thanks for keeping this simple, for not using a subscription model, and for an app that has made a significant difference in my wife's quality of life.rolfejr
Developer Response
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed review and for including the details of yours and your wife’s circumstances that have brought you to Big Text App. I am always pleased to read how this app is helping people and I also very much appreciate your suggestions to improve the app and will take this on board for the next update, though I hope your wife will not be needing to use the app for much longer. Many thanks again DaveFix for no mic input
The app worked well on my wife’s iPhone but it didn’t work on mine. I realized the only difference between them is that she had Siri setup and I didn’t. Once I started Siri, the app worked on my phone too.Roadrunner185
Developer Response
Thank you for the review and for sharing this really helpful tip, I’ll be sure to make users aware of this in the next update. Thanks again DaveNo mic input...
I can't seem to get anything from my iPhone 12 mini (iOS v16.6)'s mic even though it was listening and enabled. What's wrong? :(AppleAntDude
Developer Response
Hi, apologies that I haven’t managed to resolve this issue for you yet, I will continue to investigate. Thanks
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Details about Big Text
- Released
- Updated
- iOS Version
- Age Rating
- Size
- Devices
- Languages
Features
Developer of Big Text
- Versions
- In-App Purchases History1
- Price History
- Description
- FAQ
Version History of Big Text
1.3.1
August 21, 2022
We've tweaked the design and added some new features (a one off payment is required to unlock some features) - Persistent Mode: Retains all text from voice recognition session - Autosave: Saves transcript at end of voice recognition session - Share Transcript: Save, share and post transcripts - Profanity Filter: Option to censor or omit profanities - Read Aloud: Shake device to read transcript aloud
More1.2.2
October 18, 2020
- A small bug fix - Added a reminder to clear the speech recognition history at 5000+ items
1.0.7
July 8, 2020
Big Text In-App Purchases History
$1.99
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Price History of Big Text
Description of Big Text
Real time speech to text!
Big Text helps you communicate in noisy environments and through face coverings, a useful tool for visually & hearing impaired users.
Type your message or use speech recognition to display your words in real-time!
Save messages in the message library for instant recall.
Save & Share transcripts.
A range of colours and fonts chosen to be readable from distance.
Play back your messages with typing and banner animations.
Big Text: FAQ
Is Big Text optimized for iPad devices?
No, the software for Big Text is not compatible with iPads.
Who created the Big Text app?
The Big Text app was released by David Gaskill.
What’s the minimum iOS requirement for the Big Text app?
The minimum iOS version for the Big Text app is 14.2.
How does the Big Text app rank among users?
With a rating of 4.7 out of 5, Big Text is one of the top-rated apps in its category.
What’s the app category of Big Text?
The Main Genre Of The Big Text App Is Utilities.
What is the latest Big Text version?
The current version of the Big Text app is 1.3.1.
What is the latest Big Text update release date?
The last update for Big Text was on September 19, 2024.
What is the exact date when Big Text came out?
Big Text was first released on February 6, 2023.
What is the age rating of Big Text?
This app is appropriate for all ages, with no offensive or inappropriate content.
What are the languages supported by Big Text?
Big Text is available in English.
Does Apple Arcade offer Big Text as part of its collection?
No, Big Text is not featured on Apple Arcade.
Can I make in-app purchases within Big Text?
Yes, you can make in-app purchases to unlock additional features in Big Text.
Can I use Big Text with Apple Vision Pro?
No, you cannot use Big Text with Apple Vision Pro.
Can I expect ads while using Big Text?
No, you can not expect ads while using Big Text.
Screenshots of Big Text
