The digitalization of leisure has pushed us to seek to do more things in less time. It is not uncommon to listen to podcasts or watch videos at a faster speed than the creator set at the time. This does not mean that it should always be done, but sometimes, especially in work environments, it is useful.
The same thing happens with audiobooks, which allow entertain ourselves when we couldn’t read, such as while driving or cooking. But not all texts are available orally. That’s why apps like Speechify make sense, which focus on translating written words into voice.
This application searches read any document or text that we add thereor through the online service that can be used with our account. The application has an annual payment service of just under 110 dollars (just over 9 dollars per year), in case it is used a lot, but it can also be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store.
To speak
Free Android
Before you begin, you need to create your own profile, with some personal questions such as the orientation we are looking for in the application, work or leisure, the audio playback speed we want or the voice we want to hear. There are several, although they all still have a robotic touch. It’s not annoying, but we are still far from the transcriptions with actors that we see in audiobooks. Of course, if we want better voices, we can pay for the premium version and access more than 30 voices of famous characters created with artificial intelligence, such as those of the YouTuber Mr Beast or actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow.
The voice and its reading speed can be controlled using two shortcuts at the bottom when we are in a text. The reading experience can improve with summaries made with artificial intelligence, background music to make listening more enjoyable, etc. Several languages are available, including Spanish.
To speak
Free Android
Once this process is completed, we are asked to register and, optionally, enter the payment plan. The main interface allows us to convert any text into speech, from the PDFs that we have on our mobile to documents from our Google Drive account, for example. You can also browse web pages that we have in the browser or scan a page of a book using the mobile camera.
