Comparison

SpeakColors vs First Phrases Lite

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SpeakColors

This iPad app helps young children with speech and language delays practice using two-word phrases with colors and objects. It features colorful photos and allows voice recording to build vocabulary and language skills.

Highlights
  • Two-word phrase practice
  • Color and object vocabulary
  • Voice recording
  • Interactive photos
  • Progressive language skills
Features
Read full description

SpeakColors is an iPad app designed to encourage young children to imitate and use two word phrases with color words and common objects. The app is geared toward toddlers with speech and language delays, autism, Down syndrome and other developmental disorders. This motivating app increases vocabulary skills, phrase length, and receptive and expressive language. This lite version of SpeakColors contains 7 common colors and 100 colorful photographs of objects. Children can record their own voice to name colors, food, animals, toys, and common objects. "SpeakColors can do an excellent job of teaching words and sentence structure as a precursor to or in conjunction with other reinforcing hands-on multi-modality activities." ~ SpeechPathologyApps.com *** Free App of the Week in SpeechPathologyApps.com Newsletter (05/31/2012) *** Instructions: - From the main menu, press "Start". - Pick a color from the top of the screen. - Pick a sentence template from the upper-left of the screen. - Swipe left or swipe right (or use arrow buttons) to change objects. - Press a color or object in the middle of the screen to hear the name of the color or object. *** Includes In App Purchase to unlock features of the Full Version. *** *** Disclosure *** At RWH Technology we are committed to the privacy and safety of our customers and their children. This app: - Does not collect/share any user's personally identifiable information. - Does not contain Social Network Integration or Links to Social Media. - Does not contain ads. - Does not contain push notifications. - Does contain In-App-Purchase on a separate, parent oriented screen.

About

First Phrases Lite

This app helps toddlers and children learning basic English phrases to develop language skills. It uses interactive animations and audio to teach verb-noun combinations, encouraging both listening and speaking practice.

Highlights
  • Interactive animations
  • Audio and visual learning
  • Record and playback speech
  • Verb + noun phrase practice
  • Speech therapy support
  • Early literacy development
Features
Read full description

This interactive, beautifully illustrated and animated app for the iPad, iPhone and Mac is perfect for the toddler or speech-delayed child who is learning how to put two-three words together or any child who is learning basic English phrases. Developed by an experienced speech-language pathologist, this app provides many opportunities to both hear (receptive), see, and say/record (expressive) 10 different verb + noun combinations, such as: eat the carrot, drive the train, close the door, drink the juice, sleep on the bed, turn on the light, and more. A delightful cat performs them, with 28 possible animation combinations. It is also a great way to teach the article “the” in a meaningful phrase context. **For more verb and character choices, we suggest upgrading to the full version of this app. First Phrases Lite includes user settings for 1 child and 1 guest player. Only one user can keep data. Hamaguchi Apps is dedicated to the mission of bringing high-quality apps to the general public and professionals for affordable prices. We do not have subscriptions for our apps--you download them and they are yours. How you play: Tell the cat what to do! By touching the illustrated parts of the phrases in order (verb+ object forms: “eat the carrot”) the child hears the pre-recorded spoken phrase modeled. The user has the option to repeat this action once, twice or three times in the settings for maximum auditory input. The child then watches an animation of the cat performing the command to help the child associate the words and their meaning. Now it’s the child’s turn to say it and tell the cat what to do! Touch the microphone and record, listen again, and watch the animal follow your direction. Use the optional visual support by tapping on the shapes above the microphone. An adult can score the parts of the phrases. All correct? The cat gives a thumbs up and we hear a praise phrase such as "Awesome!". Tap on End Session to see the data and replay any missed items. This format is especially powerful for children with speech delays and autism spectrum disorders who need strong visual support with as little background clutter as possible, and for use in speech therapy sessions. The format also is a terrific way to support early literacy for left to right orientation, reading (with text on feature) and word boundaries. Options include text on/text off, recording feature on/off, presentation of the phrase in 3 segments (verb + the + object) or 2 segments (verb + the object). Developed by noted speech-language pathologist Patti Hamaguchi, who is the author of several books in the speech-language pathology field including, "Childhood Speech, Language & Listening Problems: What Every Parent Should Know". Patti is also the author or co-author of several standardized tests including the RESCA-E, the TAPS4, the ELCI and upcoming tests the RESCA-ELD, RESCA-A and the Hamaguchi Speech-Language Screening Test. PRIVACY POLICY: We do NOT collect personal data from our users and have no ads! Personal data regarding user performance on the tasks on this app are self-contained and not transmitted in any way to any third parties including us. It is on your device only. *Please contact our tech support at info@hamaguchiapps.com if you are experiencing any technical issues with our apps. We will always help you troubleshoot it and get back to you generally within one business day. To find out more about this app and our other upcoming projects, visit our website: www.hamaguchiapps.com

Screenshots

First Phrases Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: First Phrases Lite at 3.7 against SpeakColors's 2.5. First Phrases Lite also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 16 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SpeakColors sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. First Phrases Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

First Phrases Lite holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of SpeakColors's written reviews are positive against 86% of First Phrases Lite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SpeakColors ships an update every 16 months, First Phrases Lite every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
SpeakColors versus First Phrases Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpeakColorsFirst Phrases Lite
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (4 ratings)3.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews86.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 16 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.616.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB612 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRWH Technology, LLCHamaguchi Learning & Development, LLC

Customer experience

SpeakColors

All ratings4 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%

First Phrases Lite

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive86.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative4.0%

Bugs and requests

SpeakColors

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

First Phrases Lite

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Upgrade credit issue
  • App doesn't work right anymore
  • Same verb every time
  • App is slow to recognize touch
  • Record button freezing on launch
Show 1 more
  • Phrases need tapping multiple times

Requested features

7 requests
  • Credit for light version upgrade
  • App to improve articulation
  • Longer recording time
  • Option for British narrator
  • Detect speech for animation
Show 2 more
  • Disable pause button
  • Disable screen touch pause

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SpeakColors

One-time1
  • Full Version$3.99
None

First Phrases Lite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SpeakColors free?
SpeakColors is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is First Phrases Lite free?
First Phrases Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SpeakColors or First Phrases Lite?
First Phrases Lite is rated higher. SpeakColors averages 2.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while First Phrases Lite averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do SpeakColors or First Phrases Lite have ads?
Neither SpeakColors nor First Phrases Lite shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SpeakColors or First Phrases Lite?
SpeakColors ships an update every 16 months, and First Phrases Lite every 4 months. Most recently, SpeakColors was updated on November 1, 2026 and First Phrases Lite on November 6, 2026.

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