Hi everyone, I am one of the creators of Speakaboo. I saw that someone had posted it to the App Directory a couple weeks ago and just wanted to say hello and thank you for using the app, and please let me know how my team can continue to improve it to better suit your needs.
Speakaboo offers spoken descriptions for photos, similar to how BeMyAI and other apps function. However, my team has designed it with the goal of making it as simple and convenient as possible, so you can get the information you need without extra steps or distractions.
You can check it out here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/speakaboo/id6480101099
If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas on how we can make Speakaboo better for you, feel free to share.
I hope you find it helpful!āØ
Patrick
Comments
Great app!
Hi Patrick,
This is a really great app. Thank you so much for thinking of our needs in regards to its simplistic interface and ease of use. I really enjoy Speakaboo, and would only ask that you guys look into 2 possibilities?
1. Adding shortcut functionality.
2. Enabling the app to work while on a phone call. Even if only for the take a pic option without asking any questions, would be a huge boon.
Thanks for reading and for an amazing app. š
The settings screen whereā¦
The settings screen where you change the speech rate keeps losing focus.
I kind of got it to work with screen recognition, but it needs work.
When you change the speech rate, there's no way of knowing how fast or slow it will be, until you go out of the settings and use the app.
Then you have to go back in and re-adjust the speech rate.
It's all very fiddly the way it is currently.
asking questions?
I installed this app a couple of days ago and tried it out by taking a picture, but what do I need to do to ask for more information about the picture?
Re: asking questions?
Hi,
I think you can only ask questions by pressing and holding on the camera button, and it allows you to ask a question before the pic is taken.
HTH.
Shortcuts
This applies for all the description apps. Please provide shortcuts, mappable to back-tap, or, action button. Shortcut which not only opens the app, but takes picture and describes it in 1 single action.
more language support and copy the describtion
I hope the future updates will have more languages support and also we can copy the describtion!
Let me suggest a more innovative name
Just downloaded the app, and I will suggest more improvements and features as I continue to test and use the app. I would like to suggest a much more innovative name that was rejected by another developer with whom I had actually been in quite close contact. I would definitely like to be credited as the one who came up with that name though, and this very post will already be more than sufficient to prove that. So here it is: AI2C (AI to See).
The First Item on the Introduction Screen
On the introduction screen where there is a heading called "How to use with VoiceOver?" and a "Next" button, VoiceOver says nothing when moving to the very first item right before that heading.
Thank you for the feedback! @Brian, @kool_turk, @Troy B
@Brian
Thank you so much for the kind words and the helpful feedback!
Yes, shortcut functionality is something we're actively working on to streamline the experience even further. In the meantime, you can use this custom shortcut link: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/15078e1ca7b24dc09c79ed952349d993 to add a shortcut that opens Speakaboo and assign it to the Action Button, Back Tap, or use with Siri. We're working on building out more specific shortcut functions so stay tuned for that.
Using the app while on a call is a great idea, though it presents some technical challenges that might take some time for us to work through. I agree that it would be super convenient, so I will bring it to the team!
Thank you again for your input!
@kool_turk
Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate you pointing out the issue with the speech rate settings, we are fixing the focus issue right now.
We are also fixing the issue of knowing how fast or slow the speech will be so that you will get an example sentence without having to exit out of the settings screen.
Thanks again for bringing those up, and stay tuned for those updates!
@Troy B
Yes, as Brian said, hold the main button (or tap + hold if VoiceOver is on), ask your question, and then release the button. It will take the photo as you release the button.
Please let me know if you are still having trouble or have any other questions.
Thank you for the feedback! @SeasonKing, @ming, @Enes Deniz
@SeasonKing
Thank you for that fantastic input! Having a shortcut that not only opens the app but takes a picture and describes it in one step would indeed make the app more convenient. Weāre actively working on that.
In the meanwhile, you can use this link to add a shortcut to open Speakaboo and map it to Back Tap or the Action Button: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/15078e1ca7b24dc09c79ed952349d993
Stay tuned for more focused shortcuts like the one that you described.
@ming
Thanks for the great suggestions! Expanding language support for the UI is definitely something weāre exploring for future updates. Is there a language in particular you are hoping will be added?
As for today, if you ask Speakaboo a question in the language of your preference, it should answer in that same language.
In regard to copying the description, thatās a feature weāre excited to work on and hope to implement in a future update.
@Enes Deniz
Thank you for catching that issue on the introduction screen! Iāll make sure our team looks into it. We want to ensure that VoiceOver reads all relevant elements correctly, especially during onboarding.
As for the name suggestion, āAI2Cā is definitely creative! Weāve spent quite a bit of time developing the brand around āSpeakabooā and are focused on building recognition for it, so itās unlikely weāll change it in the near future. That said, I really appreciate your input, and itās great to hear youāre thinking about ways to innovate with us.
Looking forward to any additional feedback you have as you continue using the app!
Bit of a bug when using more than once
This is my favorite AI app so far. I love how quick and simple it is to use. I also love the idea of a shortcut that includes all steps to get to description.
One thing I find is that it seems to get hung up if I try to use it more than once or twice. I find I have to force close and relaunch it.
Can't wait to try adding the shortcut you provided to my Action button.
Thanks for making this.
Latest version & shortcut
First, I am loving the shortcut. Just being able to ask Siri to open the app, or assign a gesture, is a huge start. At present, I only have one small complaint, but I think this may have already been mentioned(?) when going to the settings and adjusting speech rate, focus is absolutely horrid. Otherwise, I still say this is a really great app!
Please keep up the great work. :-)
Hey Patrick
I read your post with interest. I see your aim - to get an image description as quickly as possible.
I share an image, go to the bottom of the list, double-tap and wait for Be My Eyes to speak and then tap the close button.
This is easier than Access AI, so is what i do most of the time. Access AI is for times when I might want a bit more or to verify with a human.
I'm struggling to think what else I might want, if siplicity is the name of the game?
There's other apps that let me sorta kinda use my own prompts. There's apps that give me a choice of model.
Other than someone on Mastodon who wanted to look at saucy photographs, it seems to me that we are well served at the moment.
I very much hope to be surprised!
The Blind AI
"An artistic representation of an eye formed by circuitry and digital components, symbolizing artificial intelligence or machine vision. The eye is rendered in striking shades of pink and teal, with circuit board patterns forming the iris and pupil. The title "The Blind AI Blog" appears below, creating an intriguing contrast between vision and blindness. The image conveys themes of technology, perception, and the intersection of human and artificial intelligence in a visually striking and thought-provoking manner."
OK, I've actually tried the app now!
It is super quick and super easy. It gave me a nice description of the long blakc cat.
Sorry, but there's not a lot more I can say, other than I don't want to have to hold my phone to look at things. This app would be good for looking out items from the fridge, but I'm only really interested in cameras I can wear these days. Sorry.
TBAI
Some updates: @Louise, @Brian, @Charlotte Joanne
Thanks so much for all of your feedback! We just pushed out a new update based on the notes we got from this community.
@Louise
Thank you so much for the kind words! My team will be thrilled to hear Speakaboo has already become someoneās favorite :)
I looked into the crashing issue you mentioned, and while I couldnāt reproduce it on my device I think we may have fixed it in our latest update.
Try updating the app and if itās still crashing please let me know what phone and iOS you are using and weāll get on top of it.
@Brian
Yes, that focusing issue was pretty badā¦ Iām really sorry that slipped through on the last build.
In the latest update we made sure to not only fix the focusing issue but to make the speed change settings easier to navigate as a whole, in addition to some other improvements.
āØThanks so much for your feedback and kind encouragement. Weāll stay the course!
@Charlotte Joanne
Thank you so much for giving Speakaboo a try and for your thoughtful feedback! Iām glad to hear you found the app quick and easy to use.
I totally understand your preference for wearable cameras. Iām a futurist, and I believe hands-free devices are the future as well. I have been actively exploring partnerships with wearable tech providers to make our apps even more convenient and versatile. To be fully transparent, as a small and early-stage startup, itās been challenging to get on the radar of some of these companies.
Weāre committed to keeping the app free and protecting user data, which means weāre holding out for the right partner who shares our values. While thatās made some of those conversations slower, Iām confident the right opportunity will come along, and weāll continue pushing forward until it does.
āØThanks again for trying it out!
The double tap and hold doesn't work.
I just downloaded the app last night and have been playing with it. I love the quick pics, but double tapping and holding only takes another picture. I tried just holding my finger down but nothing happened. I also tried the tripple tap, which is another way to tap and hold with Voiceover, and it just took another picture.
@Jo Billard
Hey Jo! Thanks so much for downloading Speakaboo and playing with it.
Iām testing it on my end and it is working as expected.
For the tap and hold function to work properly, make sure youāre holding the button while you ask your question, and then release the button once youāre done speaking. It should then snap the photo and give its response based on the question you asked it.
If itās still not working, please ensure you granted it permission to access your mic when it initially completed the setting up process. To be safe you can uninstall & reinstall the app and try again.
If you are still having problems with it after that please let me know and we can troubleshoot further.
@Space Dog, Thank you!
The app is wonderful. So much so that it has earned a place among my lock-screen shortcuts.
I am eagerly awaiting 1 action description shortcut.
Additionally, may I suggest addition of ability to customize the TTS voice, select the one of our choice? By default, it's using Sumantha I think, and I would like it to use Zoei or something like that.
@ SeasonKing
Hi there,
You can actually change the voice TTS yourself. It is just using the voice you have set up for your spoken content. For example, Speakaboo uses the Alex voice for me, since that is what I have as my spoken content voice.
HTH.
The update works great
Hi,
I took a super boring series of pictures inside my house to see how Speakaboo would do with multiple requests. It did great with about 5 pics, and then, I just went to the home screen, and then back into the app again to get more descriptions. Again, it worked perfectly. I also asked a question, and that worked as expected too.
If this thing could somehow be worn, I'd probably name my first born Speakaboo. (I think we should all be grateful that I'll never be in charge of naming a child. LOL)
I love this app
Hi, I love this app.
I want to suggest something, to choose an option to write to it in edition to talk to it.
I'll be happy to help translate the app to Hebrew.
I'm native Hebrew speaker and I 'll be hapy to help with it.
This app is fast and so simple to use.
I like the app.
I honestly thought it would b eanother throw away AI app for the blind but no, this is actually really good!
You can ask things like, is the door open or closed, I need to find, (name of thing,) and it will let you know where it thingk that thing is and how far away it is, also if there's stuff in the way, it wil tel you.
This app is amazing!
This is like piccybot, I don't think I'll be using this app very often but I'd like a donate button.
There have been a lot of misses for me with AI blind stuff this year but then I find apps like this and piccybot and even though I don't think i'll be using them, I can see the love and attention that went into making this ap possible.
Even something as simple as adding a sound every time you go to the next page, it's a tiny thing but I really like it, it tells you that you've done something and that the screen has changed.
well done, I'm a bit hard to impress :P but you've done it.
Some feedback.
I've noticed that if I ask the app to, "read me this text," or something like that, it will tell me there is text and if I ask it in the right way it will tell me about the label, but,, you have to ask it to read the label or something like that instead of it just reading the text.
I really like the ask question first approach but feel like BeMyEyes is more my kind of thing.
well done on a great app and I hope those that use it in the future enjoy doing so.
The microphone is on.
Yet there is no place to choose a voice and it doesn't talk. I think I'll delete and reinstall. I can't think what went wrong.
Change your voice by going into spoken content
To change your voice for this app, go to settings, accessibility, spoken content, and make your selection there. This is the voice that Speakaboo uses.
HTH.
I prefer this method. Withā¦
I prefer this method.
With Be My Eyes, you have to take a picture, wait for it to be described, or you can just ignore it, tap on more, then ask your question.
If Be My Eyes actually let you ask your question then let you take the picture you would probably have more control over how verbose a response you get, but it doesn't do that, so this app, as basic as it is, will be staying on my phone for the time being.
Adding to locked screen
Guys, I've never used shortcuts but would like to add this app to the locked screen as I think it is great. I've hunted around including the shortcuts app but haven't got a clue how to firstly add it tothe the shortcut app and second add to locked screen. I think I've worked out how to do part two as when editing my locked screen there is an option to add a shortcut so I assume that is what I would use once the shortcut exists but creating that has baffled me. Any help appreciated.
@Brian, thanks for the tip
Yes it works, but only for non-Siri voices.
Also, for those who might not be getting any speech in the Speekaboo app, you might want to just close the app from recent apps, and open it again. I had to do that after I changed from Sumantha to Zoee. Changing to US Siri 3 didn't work, app remained scylent no matter what.
@Lee
I think there's an Applevis podcast on this, please search.
I'll try to find and link later, if not, will creat a blog-post with the detailed guide whenever I get the time.
basically you start with long-pressing the clock, the place where it tells you time at the lock-screen. Then find customize button, and locate the 2 shortcuts, rest is self-explainatory.
seasonKing
Yes I worked out how to amend the locked screen. The issue is that when customising speakaboo appears nowhere so I thought I needed to add it into the shortcut app first. That's when the minefield started lol.
@Lee
Hi Lee,
Below is a shortcut to open Speakaboo with Siri, a gesture, or action button (if you have that). This is not provided by me, but rather the app developer. Enjoy. š
https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/15078e1ca7b24dc09c79ed952349d993
@Louise @Lielle ben simon @Brad
@Louise
Very happy to hear the crashing has improved. Iām actively working on getting a partnership with the right wearables, so weāll get a pacifier ready to ship out for baby Speakaboo when that deal inevitably comes to fruition ;)
@Lielle ben simon
Thank you so much for kindly volunteering to help with translation! When we do expand language support, weāll be sure to keep you in mind. In the meanwhile, as you have probably figured out, if you ask it a question in another language like Hebrew it will respond back to you in that same language.
Thank you also for the great feedback about writing out questions instead of speaking them! Itās something weāll look into for the future.
@Brad
Thanks so much for the kind and thoughtful feedback! It means a lot that you took the time, even if you donāt plan to use Speakaboo regularly.
I love that you appreciated the sound design, we have a top-notch audio designer on our team and she puts a lot of thought and effort into creating the best auditory experience for our users. Especially with such a minimalist UI, we know that every detail counts.
Great note about the reading text thing. I know text reading is an important functionality for an app like this so weāll look into ways to improve and streamline that.
In regards to the donate button, weāre discussing the best ways to allow users to support us, and weāll definitely keep that suggestion in mind. For now weāre just focused on creating the most friction-free app experience.
No issue at all with you continuing to use Be My Eyes. I have so much respect and reverence for everything they are doing to innovate in this space and pave the way in assistive tech for little guys like us. Maybe one day we will give them a run for their money. :)
@Jo Billard @kool_turk @Lee @Brian @seasonKing
@Jo Billard
Yes, as Brian mentioned, for now you can change the voice within the accessibility settings on your phone. Weāre working on ways to make the experience more customizable while keeping everything as minimal as possible.
Please let me know if youāre continuing to have issues with asking Speakaboo questions.
@kool_turk
Thank you for your feedback! Iām glad to hear you prefer Speakabooās approach, and I appreciate you taking the time to compare it to Be My Eyes, who we greatly admire. Our goal is to keep things simple while giving users ample control over their experience, so itās great to know that resonates with you.
Honored to know that weāve earned a spot on your phone for now. Weāll do everything we can to maintain our position there :)
@Lee
Yes please follow Brianās advice, and as he mentioned, you can use this custom shortcut when you add it to your lock screen or to map it to gestures: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/15078e1ca7b24dc09c79ed952349d993
We are working on more shortcut integration. Weāre a small team so it may take some time, but please stay tuned because streamlining the experience and making it as quick and easy as possible is top priority for us.
@Brian and @seasonKing
Thank you so much for jumping in to help! Iām still learning all of the accessibility features and other customization options of the iPhone myself so having seasoned (no pun intended) experts like you two on this thread is a real boon.
Perhaps one day you will.
I really do like the ask question first approach.
I think I'd actually use it if it were on a pare of glasses, I can imagine saying to speakaboo once it's upgraded a bit, tell me when a selection changes on a video game menu or an aplyance.
I'm thinking of a video live feed kind of thing, if you guys don't do it, i'm quite sure someone will in my future :)
Brian
Thanks perfect.
It didn't work!
I went to spoken content and chose a different voice other than what was there and it still using Samantha. I've done everything including to switch the language to English and chose another voice there as well but every time I use the app it speaks to me in that drastic Samantha voice. I even deleted the voice from my device because it was downloaded. That's the only thing that I don't like about this app but everything else works great. If any of you have any other suggestions, I appreciate you.
OK, I actually had to choose something other than the Siri voice that I wanted but got it and I'm good so disregard this.
I share the sentiments of the other people who commented about the app. I also have had it on my lock screen for a few days and I think it's a very handy tool for me. š
Any plans for Android?
I suppose since you guys are new and a small team, Android version might be tough right now.
I use 2 phones, and would love to have this app on my Android phone as well.
@Martin
Thank you for sharing what eventually worked to change the voice! That will help me guide others who wish to do the same in the future.
It means so much to me and the whole team that Speakaboo has earned a place on your lock screen, and that it has been a useful tool for you.
Thanks for sharing your feedback. We will continue to improve it!
Android @SeasonKing
Your assessment is astute - it is tough for the time being. But it is still on our roadmap. Once we introduce Android, our development workload will double, and itās just going to take some time before we will have the resources to manage that.
Iām working around the clock to secure some external funding for this project so we can expand our team and bring Speakaboo to everyoneās devices (including wearable ones).
Itās just a matter of time, but in the meanwhile all of your feedback and insight is truly helpful so that we can create the best app possible, and show potential stakeholders the impact we can create by building side by side with the community :)
Anyway, that is probably too much information but I feel itās better to be candid about something like this than to vaguely say ācoming soonā.
@Martin
Not sure why this is not working for you. Would you be willing to detail the steps you take to change your voice?
Thought I'd give this a go
I initially was a little curious about why we needed another image describing app but thought I'd give this a try anyway after seeing the positive feedback on here. And it's pretty neat. I guess the big difference between this and PiccyBot is that it is more for seeing the world around you rather than describing images. I liked how simple the interface was and how quick the responses were. I think it will take a little time before I get used to the tap and hold - for some reason I kept doing the gesture, letting go and then expecting to speak. But it does work well, so once my brain catches up I think I will appreciate its speed and efficiency. It does make sense to ask a question first.
The one problem I have really is that my Meta Ray-bans are just more convenient as they are on my face. But for the times when they aren't, I can see myself going to this.
I did find that it was using a fairly robotic American female voice which I presume is Samantha. Oddly in the UK, any apps I've used before that couldn't cope with my selected voice tended to default to Daniel. I had it set to Serena Premium and tried Siri UK voice 1 but no difference. I then tried Ava (Premium), and that did seem to work, so maybe it needs to be a US voice?
Anyway it's a nice app - congrats to the devs. I like how it is focused on just doing one thing well rather than solving every problem under the sun.
Just one question - I love how it's free and no sign of a subscription, but how is the app being funded? Presumably my queries go to the cloud so are costing someone money?
@mr grieves
Thanks so much for the kind and thoughtful feedback! I completely agree, it would be even more convenient to have this running on smart glasses, and Iām working hard to make that a reality.
Currently, Speakaboo is funded by my wife and me, with the generous support of friends and family. Additionally, my dedicated team at Benvision, who makes Speakaboo, are volunteering their time - none of us are making any money from this project at the moment - because we believe deeply in the mission.
Yes, there are ongoing costs to maintain the app, and we do plan to introduce a premium version soon to help sustain the project.
That said, keeping the most essential features of Speakaboo free is a core part of our philosophy. Independence shouldnāt come with a price tag, and weāre committed to keeping Speakaboo accessible to as many people as possible.
Thank you again for the encouragement and for giving Speakaboo a try!
@Space Dog and Brian
I was able to change the voice so I'm OK on that front. It was not easy for me and had to try several methods. Thanks Brian.
I would like to offer a suggestion for the app for those of us in the USA, who do not know how to measure meters, and use distance by inches and feet instead, if there was a way that we can change that in the settings to suit those of us who have to use imperial method Can do so. I would love that.
Also if this goes premium, how much would that be and would it be a subscription or one time fee? It would be nice to have this available on the Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses btw! āŗļø
@Space Dog
Thanks for the reply and the info. It's fantastic that you are funding it in this way, and given the expense of running AI I think adding a Premium version makes sense. My main reason for asking was that I was concerned about how sustainable it would be long-term but hopefully this is the answer.
Agree with the need for shortcuts
I use aira's AI, Seeing AI and the Be My Ai section in Be My Eyes, and now this app. The one thing they all lack is a way to use them hands-free. I'd really like to be able to say "Hey Siri, describe this" and just have it all happen automatically. I often want to hold up a piece of clothing or other fashion accessory, or look at a sign or a menu, and my hands are occupied either pointing the phone at the thing, or holding the thing in front of the phone camera.
A feature request
Hi there,
Still loving this app! I do have a small feature request, if at all possible. Could you give the ability to take the simple descriptions using the volume keys? I understand this is a minimalist app, and it is one of the reasons it is so amazing to use, but this functionality has been included in the be my AI portion of the Be My Eyes app, and it really is a game changer for those of us who struggle with holding a smartphone steady, well double tapping the screen.
Thanks for an amazing nap, either way. šāļø
Great idea Brian
I just discovered that you can get the description's in Be My Eyes by pressing the volume button. I still much prefer Speakaboo, as I find there description's faster, and generally meet my needs better.
Even more amazing would be if we could get the descriptions by pressing the up volume botton, and we could ask a question by holding down the down volume button. Speakaboo has located my coffee mug countless times, and it would be even easier this way.
Also, I bought the lifetime premium subscription, and I think it was money well spen to support this amazing app.
Eleven Labs
I know that currently you have the voiceselection feature behind a paywall, and that has me thinking. Have you ever considered using your own custom voicef Eleven Labs for Speakaboo? You could create a voice that represents your brand through Voice Design and then have that as the default, similar to what Envision is doing with Ally. Just a suggestion! Thanks again!
Big updates!
Hey everyone,
I wanted to let you all know that over the past week weāve made the biggest update to Speakaboo that weāve made so far.
Let me call out the most exciting one first, which just dropped this morning:āØThe Quick Describe shortcut is here!! Now you can swiftly open and get a description from Speakaboo with a single gesture. With the latest update, it should automatically appear in your Shortcuts app. Or you can access the shortcut directly here: https://speakaboo.app/quick
In addition to mapping it to your back-tap or action button, you can also use the shortcut with Siri, prompting her to āQuick Describe with Speakabooā.
*Just be sure Speakaboo is already running in the background when you use it, for some reason the shortcut struggles if Speakaboo has been recently closed.
Many of you have probably already noticed that we have introduced Premium subscriptions. While Speakabooās most essential features will always be free, Premium includes add-ons like repeat & followup, voice selection, control over response length, turbo mode for even faster response times, and, of course, unlimited use.
Thank you so much to everyone who has already purchased a subscription. Your support has invigorated our team and motivated us to work even harder and faster to make Speakaboo the best it can possibly be.
In case you didnāt see it, we are offering a promotional lifetime subscription option until January 1st. Some of our advisors actually told us not to do this but it was important to us to have a way to thank the people who tried our app and supported us early in our journey. We will have to pull it off the shelf at the start of the new year, so if you think youāll be using Premium for the long haul, definitely grab it to save yourself some cash.
Some of the new features we added caused unexpected bugs to pop up - and thank you to those who wrote in to let us know about them - but we worked long and hard to fix them and this morning released the most stable version of Speakaboo to date.
Additional updates in both free and premium include switching between imperial and metric measurements, a wider field of view, and language support for Spanish, French, German, and Hindi. We also work hard to improve the AIās accuracy with every release :)
Weāre actively working on several of your other great suggestions, including integrating utility for the volume buttons.
Thanks again for all of your support and please keep the feedback coming!
Re: Big updates!
Hi,
I just updated a few minutes ago. The app is awesome, as always, and I am a premium subscriber, but I noticed with this update that repeat or follow-up feature seems to be broken. Whenever I use the camera either for a quick description, or to hold and ask, The repeat or follow-up option tells me that there is no previous image to repeat or follow-up on.