Listen 2 Reader vs NaturalLocalReader

Listen2 runs neural text-to-speech directly on your iPhone or iPad without connecting to cloud services. No subscription or accounts — just a 7 day free trial and then a one-time purchase. Most text-to-speech apps either use the tried and true system voices or require monthly payments for cloud processing. Listen2 runs neural voice models locally using your iOS device's CPU and Apple Neural Engine, giving you natural-sounding speech without ongoing costs or privacy tradeoffs. WHAT MAKES LISTEN2 DIFFERENT Multi-Voice Engines, One App Piper provides reliable neural voices across 13 languages. Supertonic offers a fresh take on a voice engine — flow-matching models running on Apple's Neural Engine via CoreML for natural rhythm and expressive speech. Choose from 100+ voices in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Greek, Hindi, Vietnamese, Swedish and Hungarian. More coming. Voice Tuning Adjust the model parameters of any voice to suit your preferences. Save presets to switch between profiles. Preview pronunciation rules before saving them. Import Anything PDF, EPUB, DOCX, DAISY, markdown, plain text, clipboard, or web articles. Share from Safari and Listen2 extracts the article text. Paywalled content works (even sites on which other major TTS apps fail) when shared from a browser where you are logged in. Machine Learning Word Sync CTC forced alignment matches audio to text at the word level. Watch each word highlight as it is spoken — across Latin and non-Latin scripts alike. Highlighting engine newly re-build to be lean and efficient that's dramatically easier on your battery life. Smart Document Reading Multi-column layout handling, footnote filtering (for PDF files), hyphenated word rejoining. AI Vision for scanned PDFs. Full EPUB, DOCX, and DAISY support. Figure Descriptions On-device AI vision generates spoken descriptions of figures, charts, and photos as you listen. For non-English documents, descriptions translate automatically via Apple's on-device Translation framework. (Works with EPUB and PDF as a first roll-out) Pronunciation Rules Fix how any word is spoken without changing display text. Rules for names, terms, or abbreviations. Live preview before saving. Built-in presets for footnote markers. Global or per-document. Doesn't break highlighting. True Offline Privacy Processing, normalization, and synthesis all happen on-device. Documents never leave your phone. No uploads, account, or tracking. FEATURES - 100+ neural voices across 13 languages, plus dozens of Apple system voices - 3+ engines: Piper (broad language support), Supertonic (high-fidelity CoreML, flow-matching models), and Kokoro. Apple system voices offer efficient, quality options if using enhanced or premium models. - Voice tuning with saveable presets - Word-by-word or sentence highlighting - PDF, EPUB, DOCX, DAISY, TXT, Markdown support - AI figure descriptions with auto-translation (PDF and EPUB support) - Collections with intros, cover art, and auto-advance - Web Article Collections — batch articles into an auto-playing queue - Clipboard import and Siri shortcut support - 0.5x to 2.5x playback speed (Kokoro supports up to 1.4x because of real-time constraint) - Background playback with lock screen controls - Import from Files, links, Share Extension, or other apps - Export any document as a plain-text file from the library - Pronunciation rules with live preview - Atkinson Hyperlegible and OpenDyslexic fonts - Full VoiceOver support with rotor navigation and Magic Tap - Elapsed and remaining time in now playing & reader view. WHO IT'S FOR - Commuters turning drive time into learning time - Students reviewing papers and textbooks - Professionals handling confidential documents privately - VoiceOver users looking for a fully accessible TTS reader - Readers with dyslexia who benefit from audio-visual sync - Anyone tired of TTS subscriptions One-time purchase. 7-day free trial. No subscriptions.

Listen to Safari articles and imported documents entirely on-device — no internet required for playback. NaturalLocalReader offers English and Chinese text-to-speech with voice cloning, optional AI-powered multi-voice narration, a Safari extension, offline audio preparation, and a saved reading library. Use the Safari extension to send any article straight into the app, or import `.txt`, `.epub`, `.pdf`, `.md`, or `.html` files and keep them in a reading library with saved progress. Pick up where you left off, jump to any paragraph or chapter, and listen with simple playback controls. **English and Chinese playback, fully on-device.** English content is read using PocketTTS — a fast, natural-sounding engine with voice cloning support. Chinese content uses MOSS — a CoreML-powered voice engine also with voice cloning. Record a short clip or import any audio file, and the engine reads in your voice. No internet connection needed for any engine. **Voice cloning for English and Chinese.** Record a short clip in Settings → Voice Reference and the engine reads in your voice — available for both PocketTTS (English) and MOSS (Chinese). MOSS also lets you save multiple named voice references and switch between them instantly. **Multi-voice narration, for an audiobook feel.** Turn this on in Settings with your own free Gemini API key, and imported Chinese or English books are automatically read with a distinct voice per character — narrator, dialogue, and each speaker read separately. It's entirely opt-in and off by default; the resulting audio is still prepared and played back on-device. For longer listening sessions, NaturalLocalReader can prepare offline audio for any saved file so you can keep listening with fewer pauses. Preparation is resumable — start, stop, and pick up again any time. NaturalLocalReader requires a subscription or one-time purchase to access all features. A 7-day free trial is included with the subscription. ### Highlights - Send article text from Safari to the iOS app with one tap. - Import and save `.txt`, `.epub`, `.pdf`, `.md`, and `.html` files in an in-app reading library. - Read English text aloud using PocketTTS with voice cloning — record your voice and PocketTTS reads in your style. - Read Chinese text aloud using MOSS with voice cloning — record your voice and MOSS reads in your style. - Save multiple named voice references for Chinese and switch between them in Settings. - Jump to any paragraph by tapping it; navigate chapters with the chapter list. - Return to the home screen without losing the current article or saved text. - Keep your reading progress for any reopened saved file. - Prepare offline audio for any imported file and resume unfinished preparation later. - Adjust playback speed: 0.75×, 1×, 1.25×, 1.5×, or 2×. - Use on-device playback — your content stays private, nothing leaves your device. ### Current playback experience - **English** uses PocketTTS (on-device, voice cloning supported). - **Chinese** uses MOSS (on-device CoreML, voice cloning supported) or Qwen (on-device, no internet required). ### Good fit for - People with dyslexia, ADHD, or reading fatigue who prefer listening - Reading articles while walking, commuting, or doing chores - Listening to Chinese web novels, articles, or study material on the go - Reducing screen fatigue - Saving long documents to listen later - Listening to imported ebooks (EPUB, PDF) with saved progress Terms of Use: This app uses Apple’s standard End User License Agreement (EULA). https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/