Text Message Sounds + vs Seeing is Hearing
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Text Message Sounds +
Access a collection of over 65 popular and funny sound effects and ringtones. Easily set these sounds for text message notifications, alerts, or alarms. This app groups popular downloaded notification sounds into one convenient place.
- Over 65 funny ringtones
- Sound effects for notifications
- Alerts and alarms
- Easy to use interface
- Grouped popular sounds
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Text message sounds includes some of the most popular text message sounds and ringtones at the tap of a button. Tap to listen to over 65 funny ringtones and sound effects perfect for a text message notification, alert, alarm and more. Text message sounds features some of the most downloaded funny text message notification sounds grouped together in one easy to use application. - text message sounds - easy to use - simple interface - new sounds
Seeing is Hearing
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See nearby speech as large, live text. Seeing is Hearing is a visual aid for everyday conversations. Place your iPhone or iPad near the person speaking, tap Start, and read the words as they appear. Captions update during speech and may change as recognition becomes more certain. Made for comfortable reading: - Large captions with three text size choices, including larger presets on iPad. - A warm design with coloured conversation threads, clear controls, and light and dark appearances. - Support for your device's larger text setting, portrait and landscape layouts, and VoiceOver labels. - Simple Start, Pause and Clear controls, plus a microphone level meter. - An option to keep the screen awake while listening. Try it with your own voice: The introduction includes a live practice screen. Tap Start and say a few words to see real captions. Practice stays on that device and is cleared when you leave. Reopen the tutorial, read the FAQ, or find help in Settings. Read on another screen: Use one iPhone or iPad as the microphone and another iPhone, iPad or Apple TV as a caption reader. Both devices need Seeing is Hearing version 1.1 or later. Compare and confirm the matching number on both screens to connect. Either device can Start, Pause and Clear. One microphone connects to one reader at a time, and both apps must remain open. Apple TV shows these conversation captions inside the app; it does not transcribe television programmes or place captions over other apps. Optional headphone listening: Connect compatible headphones or hearing devices directly to the microphone iPhone or iPad, then turn on Listen through headphones. Read captions and hear nearby speech together. Mute silences headphone sound while captions continue; Pause stops both. Captions work without headphones. Accessory compatibility and audio delay depend on your device and its supported audio connection. The paired caption reader does not receive microphone audio. Private by design: Speech recognition runs on the microphone device. Optional caption sharing uses an encrypted local connection. No accounts, advertising, analytics, subscriptions, audio recordings or saved transcript history. Conversation text stays in temporary memory. Text you choose to copy is handled by your device and the place you paste it. Recognition and local caption sharing do not need internet access when on-device speech recognition is available for the microphone device's current language. Availability depends on your device, system version and installed speech resources. The app explains when recognition is unavailable; it does not switch to online transcription or download speech models. Allow microphone access and, if requested, speech recognition. Connecting devices also needs Local Network access. Keep the microphone near the speaker and have one person speak at a time. Captions can make mistakes; check important details with the speaker. Seeing is Hearing is a visual conversation aid, not a hearing aid replacement, medical device or emergency communication tool.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Seeing is Hearing at none against Text Message Sounds +'s shown. Seeing is Hearing also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 19 months). Text Message Sounds +'s advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Text Message Sounds + ships an update every 19 months, Seeing is Hearing every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Text Message Sounds + | Seeing is Hearing |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (275 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 27.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 275 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 19 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jason Torres | Jake Heading |
Bugs and requests
Text Message Sounds +
Reported bugs
6 issues- Not Working ???
- Literally, nothing happens.
- All I saw was an ad for a game, closed the ad and got a blank screen
- As soon as the app is opened it pops up with an add. Normally adds don’t bother me but when the x appears you can’t click on it, all is does is pop up with ‘copy’.
- Goes straight to a solitaire game app
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- There is no way to see apps in iTunes any more so instructions are useless. Unless the developer has a new way of downloading these this app does not work.
Requested features
3 requests- Provide clear instructions for downloading tones
- Offer a way to download tones without a computer
- Improve ad functionality (clickable 'x')
Seeing is Hearing
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Text Message Sounds +
No in-app purchases
Seeing is Hearing
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Text Message Sounds + free?
Is Seeing is Hearing free?
Do Text Message Sounds + or Seeing is Hearing have ads?
Which is updated more often, Text Message Sounds + or Seeing is Hearing?
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