Talking Typer vs Tactile Images READER
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Talking Typer
This accessible typing program helps students improve their keyboarding skills through lessons and a fun game. It is designed for blind and visually impaired students but is beneficial for all learners, offering progress tracking and customizable lessons.
- 35 built-in typing lessons
- Customizable lessons for teachers/parents
- Progress tracking for speed and accuracy
- Hurry Scurry typing game
- Self-voicing and VoiceOver accessible
- Supports refreshable braille displays
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Talking Typer finally makes its way to iOS. Help students make typing progress with this fun-to-use self-voicing app! Talking Typer An accessible typing and computer keyboard tutorial app with a keyboard game to help increase speed and accuracy in a fun environment! Learn to type or improve your skills with drills, practice lessons, keyboard explorer, and an entertaining game. It is designed for blind and visually impaired students, but can be used by sighted students too. This makes it a great tool for the whole class. 35 Built-in Lessons Talking TyperTM for iOS devices comes with 35 built-in lessons at levels 1-10. Teachers and parents can create new lessons, edit lessons, and assign lessons to individual students or groups. Speed, accuracy, and typing level can also be set for individual students or groups. The app saves the results of each drill allowing students, teachers, and parents to monitor improvement. Hurry Scurry Game The app also includes the exciting game Hurry Scurry, where students earn points by typing letters before the ball drops. It’s fun for all ages and skill levels! Self-Voicing and Apple® VoiceOver Accessible The app is both self-voicing and accessible with Apple’s VoiceOver. The onboard keyboard of your device can be used with Talking Typer, but an external keyboard is recommended. The app can also be used with a refreshable braille display, like APH’s Refreshabraille 18TM Bluetooth®-enabled device, making it accessible for students who are deafblind as well. Recommended ages: All.
Tactile Images READER
This educational tool provides audio descriptions for tactile graphics, allowing blind and visually impaired individuals to learn independently. It works with interactive tactile graphics from an e-learning platform, offering a virtual assistant to explain details when a phone is placed over the graphic.
- Audio descriptions for tactile graphics
- Virtual assistant for detailed explanations
- Supports independent learning
- Works with interactive tactile graphics
- Customizable descriptions
- Multilingual support
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Replicate the tactile learning experience at your own place & pace. Meet the virtual assistant that describes tactile graphics just like a specialist and allows blind people to study at home. This educational tool is part of the Tactile Images e-learning platform, where teachers and parents can find, personalize and create interactive tactile graphics, with audio descriptions. The Tactile Images Reader app teleports the voice and knowledge of the teacher at home. How? Let’s say that we have the tactile graphic of an African elephant. You will explore it with both hands, as you usually do, to contextualize. So far so good. But when you place the phone above the graphic, the magic happens. Just point at the ear of the elephant and the smartphone will tell you: ”This is the ear of the elephant. The ears of an African elephant are bigger than the ears of an Indian elephant because they help the elephants cool down by radiating the excess heat. The ears can also be used to communicate visually, flapping ears signifying either aggression or joy.” The descriptions are customizable and can be adapted to the specific needs of every person. The Tactile Images Reader mobile assistant empowers you to discover the world independently. It gives you the freedom to explore untouchable objects and study school subjects based on graphics, such as Maths, Geography or Biology at your own pace. Using this app feels like watching the Discovery Channel for the first time. How does it work? The app works only with interactive tactile graphics from our e-learning platform. Join for FREE right here www.tactileimages.org and get access to a Library of 800 tactile graphics with multilingual descriptions and drawing software that allows teachers and parents to create their own interactive tactile graphics. Download your first interactive catalogue for FREE https://bit.ly/Catalog_UrbanLandscapes, emboss the drawings and explore with the app! Remote teaching and homeschooling have never been easier for blind and visually impaired people! How to use? Position the phone above an interactive tactile graphic. The app will read the QR Code placed in the upper left corner and tell you the title of the graphic. Position the index finger on the Braille-written title (available for the tactile graphics in the Library) and the app will tell you the description of the graphic. Start exploring with both hands. The app will identify the position of the index finger and beep once when you come across an area with descriptions. Point the index finger if you want to find out the description of that area. Preferably, clench your fist and extend the index finger as if you were pointing to that area. Be steady for 3 seconds. The app will send you 3 beeps and deliver the audio description of the area. Additionally, you can touch the QR Code to listen to general information about the subject of the graphic. Features - Audio descriptions can be in these languages: English, French, German, Italian, Turkish, Romanian, Finnish, Spanish - You are free to personalize the descriptions of any graphic - Multi-sensorial learning - Mobile assistant (works anywhere: school, home, park, library, museum, city hall, train station, metro) - You can either hold it with your hand or use a phone holder (Gooseneck) - Modern technologies: AI, machine learning, interactive augmented reality, finger tracking This app was featured in the American Alliance of Museums http://bit.ly/exploration-at-museums and other 35 publications. The Tactile Images e-learning platform was financed by The Romanian Ministry of Culture, the Administration of the National Cultural Heritage, the Civic Innovation Fund, the Orange Foundation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, OMV Petrom, ING Bank Romania, Microsoft Romania, Electrica SA. This app is created by the Urban Development Association, which has the mission to improve the life quality of blind children through education.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Tactile Images READER at every 4 months against Talking Typer's every 11 months. Talking Typer's advantage is ratings volume (10 vs 2). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.9 for Talking Typer against 4.0 for Tactile Images READER. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Talking Typer has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Talking Typer ships an update every 11 months, Tactile Images READER every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Talking Typer | Tactile Images READER |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (10 ratings) | 4.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 10 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | American Printing House for the Blind (APH) | Asociatia pentru Dezvoltare Urbana |
Customer experience
Talking Typer
Tactile Images READER
In-app purchases
Talking Typer
No in-app purchases
Tactile Images READER
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Talking Typer free?
Is Tactile Images READER free?
Which has better reviews, Talking Typer or Tactile Images READER?
Do Talking Typer or Tactile Images READER have ads?
Which is updated more often, Talking Typer or Tactile Images READER?
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