Hi everyone,
My name is Emmanuel, I'm 17, and I built Tyto, a voice-first email app designed from the ground up for blind and visually impaired users.
I started building this while working with a blind individual who needed a better way to handle email on his phone. Every email app out there is built around a visual interface, you're navigating someone else's layout through VoiceOver. The tools that try to solve this have drawbacks such as requiring VoiceOver to be turned off, needing sighted help for setup, reading emails raw with no intelligence one at a time, and clunky dictation with no cleanup.
Tyto takes a different approach. There is no visual interface. The entire screen is a single tap target. You tap, say what you want in plain language — "read my latest emails" or "reply to Sarah and tell her I'll be there at 3" — and the app handles it.AI summarizes emails, cleans up hesitations and backtracking in your dictation, drafts proper replies from your voice, and confirms everything before sending. Works with VoiceOver from first launch. No sighted assistance needed at any point. Gmail in this version.
I'm looking for 10 to 15 VoiceOver users to beta test through TestFlight. I want feedback, what works, what breaks, what's missing.
If you're interested or know anyone who might be interested, feel free to share this with them and reply here or email me at emmanuel.maclaren.yansouni@gmail.com.
Comments
Sent you an email.
Sound good. Would I be able to transfer my contact, what about attachments, photos.
Hi. I am intersted in testing.
I was wondering what is required to test this app. Does It support Ios or mac or windows.
Contacts, attachments, and photos
Thank you Holger! Contacts are already embedded in gmail but attachments and photos are on the roadmap for V2, the first version focuses on core email by voice. I'll send you a TestFlight invite as soon as the build is ready, should be within the next week or so.
I don't seem to have recieved an email however, if needed, you can reach out to me alternatively if it doesnt work again
Testing requirements and platform
Hi Don, thanks for your interest! Tyto is an iOS app, so you'll need an iPhone to test. Testing will be through Apple's TestFlight, I'll post the build link here when it's ready
i'd be interested
please put me on testing list thanks
interested
sounds like a great app! deffenatly want to test.
I'll test!
Hi,
I'd love to help test!
Use the info in my personal contact form to reach out when you're ready! :)
My profile
It also should have my info. If not let me know and will send you my email that I use for apple instead of google. Only use apple email for personal and not everyday use.
@Emmanuel
FYI - To contact people on AppleVis, click on a users' display name to open their profile, then choose the "Contact" option.
Michael Hansen
Email. How many email can you put? I have my google for regular things and personal that is the apple. I think is there. Let me know. Long live cats.
@Holger: Email
Hi Holger,
You can put one email address on your AppleVis profile. The email address is not made visible to other site visitors to protect user privacy.
Michael Hansen
Would you mind emailing me with the email you send me when I am naughty? I will give it to you if you do not mind helping. Long live cats.
Thank you
Thank you all for the interest, I'm blown away by the response. I'm working hard on getting the TestFlight build ready and will share the link here as soon as it's up. If I haven't been in touch with you yet, feel free to reach out through my profile or email me at emmanuel.maclaren.yansouni@gmail.com
Thank you all: TestFlight coming soon
Thank you all for the interest, I'm blown away by the response! I'm working hard on getting the TestFlight build ready and will share the link here as soon as it's up. If I haven't been in touch with you yet, feel free to reach out through my profile or email me at emmanuel.maclaren.yansouni@gmail.com
What issue does this solve?
I don’t get it, how is Gmail or the native Apple may client not accessible? How is this more productive? Why should I use this over a more established alternative?
jim pickens
About making it easy and not complicated. I think using your voice to tell it to do things instead of typing it. I might be wrong. If you do not like it you can say no. It will be a test. Long live cats.
Re: What issue does this solve?
Fair question. Gmail and Mail are accessible, as in VoiceOver works in them. The difference with Tyto is friction. With Mail, you're still navigating a visual layout through VoiceOver: swipe to find the message, open it, find reply, open compose, dictate without intelligence cutting out the backtracks, and find send.
Basically Tyto removes the navigation. Tap once, say "XYZ" then confirm, done. Whether that's worth it depends on how much the navigation slows you down.
Friction still exists, possibly in a different form.
There is still friction though. First off: AI provider latency, even with an N to end approach. Second off: control, when I typically read my email, I don’t go message by message in full. I might glance at the sender and possibly the subject, then I move down to the next message. Finally: you have raw speed, as I guarantee you that which ever provider you're using, it is not as fast as a competent voiceover user.
Also, regarding dictation, if you are dictating your emails without editing them, you possibly have bigger problems than which email client to use, typing is far more preferable.
Re: Friction still exists, possibly in a different form
You're right on desktop — effective use keyboard + VoiceOver beats anything I can make. I'm not competing there.
However, I've noticed many use cases that aren't addressed with a keyboard and voiceover. Even fast VoiceOver users hit a thumb-bandwidth ceiling when triaging 20 messages, and none of that helps when their hands are full.
Your control point landed. I rebuilt the read flow this week as a scan: "5 unread. From Sarah. Re Thursday plans." Instant next-skip-open, making it closer to list nav than a podcast.
On dictation — I'd reframe what Tyto does as drafting with review, not transcription. The user gives intent, the model writes, the user hears it and revises before sending.
This is great feedback. If you'd want to actually try it Friday, I have a TestFlight spot open.
Moving Email Mountains
Certainly there are ways to imagine a voice-based email app, and I'll not discourage, but think farther afield. Services like SaneBox are amazing because they help you move mountains of email automatically with just a bit of training. Perhaps the real value of your app is not just as any old email app, but one capable of sorting, filing, tagging or destroying messages (with suitable safeguards, natch) when the user asks the AI to do that, and in ways not normally possible with simple mail rules, e.g., find me all the mail in my Newsletters folder that's older than a year or that pertains to expired offers, and move it to the Trash. Or find me all the threads in my Lists folders that pertain to virtual machines or alternative operating systems running on Macs, and then summarise the threads you've found. You know, that sort of thing.
Because of AppleVis guidelines I can't give out a referral to SaneBox, but let me know privately if you want one. But just to be clear, I'm just a happy user and think it's one of the neatest products in its category; on my self-hosted server, I just use rules like everyone else.
Update on timing
Hi all — wanted to keep you in the loop. I'm moving the beta launch to Friday, May 29, about a week later than planned.
The main reason is the Apple side of things. Getting the app through review and verification takes time, and rather than rush an invite out the door, I'd rather everything be solid before it reaches you. There's no point in you testing a version that trips over setup issues I could have ironed out first.
Your spots are all secured. I'll post here when invites go out on the 29th, with a short walkthrough beforehand so you know what to expect.
Genuinely grateful for all the interest — it's been the most encouraging part of this whole process. Hang tight, it's coming.
Emmanuel
Re: Email Mountains
This is actually close to where Tyto's intelligence is already headed, the AI understands what you're asking in plain language, so commands like "delete all the expired offers" or "summarize the threads about virtual machines" fit naturally into the voice-first model rather than needing manual rules. The difference from something like SaneBox is that Tyto isn't running invisibly in the background sorting your mail — it's the interface itself, driven entirely by voice. But the underlying idea, using AI to move mountains of email with a simple instruction, is exactly the kind of thing I want it to do well.
Would love to be involved with testing.
Would love to be involved with testing this app.
Re: Would love to be involved with testing
Thanks so much, Kushal! The first cohort is full at the moment, but I'm opening a second round shortly based on this round's feedback, and I've got you down for it. I'll reach out through your profile when spots open. Really appreciate the interest.
Emmanuel
Second testing membership
OK I'll bite please add me to the second group of testers and good luck with the launch!
Issue
Got the link and downloaded it, However I do not use my google email in my iPhone, just my apple email. Google is for my window PC. Now what? Also anyone planning to test, turn VO off and turn microphone on. I did so but bugs. Long live cats.
Re: Issue
Hi Holger, thanks for posting this and sorry for the trouble.
Two things:
First, the VoiceOver issue. You should not have to turn VoiceOver off to use Tyto, it is supposed to minimize the usual comprimises with accesibilty apps. That is a bug and I have just pushed a fix. Just relaunch the app and it should update automatically. Really appreciate you catching this.
Second, on Gmail vs Apple Mail. Tyto V1 is Gmail only, so you would need a Gmail account set up on your iPhone for it to work right now. Broader email support is something I want to add but it is not in this version.
Let me know if the VoiceOver fix works for you.
Emmanuel
Emmanuel MacLaren-Yansouni
I will add my gmail account in my mail beside my apple one. When is the other beta coming out? Long live cats.
Tyto: Beta Test Update
Hi everyone,
A week into the beta and a lot has shipped. Quick update.
What's new
Full email body reading works now, "open it" or "read it in full" gives you the whole email, not a summary. The inbox flow reads every unread message as a numbered list and asks which one you want, pick by number or by sender. The onboarding is much more comprehensive, and covers many gaps that were not clear for first time users. Audio is much louder, Tyto plays at full volume and lowers VoiceOver while it speaks. Replies thread properly into the original conversation, HTML emails from Apple Mail or Outlook read cleanly without raw tags, speech recognition is snappier between turns, draft editing is smarter ("make it shorter", "change 3pm to 4pm"), onboarding can be restarted by saying "show me the tour again", and the VoiceOver double tap bug is gone.
What's coming
A more natural sounding and conversational voice, better haptic feedback throughout, attachment reading (PDFs first), and smarter inbox queries like "anything urgent today?" or "what newsletters can I trash?"
A couple of things
Two questions I'd genuinely value answers to:
If you're skeptical that voice first email is something you'd actually use, please tell me why and what would be more beneficial otherwise.
If there's a specific email task that currently frustrates you, describe it. That's where Tyto can be most useful.
Thanks again,
Emmanuel
Does not work
Did my gmail in my iPad. Install the app. Will not work with VO so you need to turn it off. It is stuck on the email. Needs more work. Had not seen any new release. Long live cats.
Re:does not work
Hi Holger, thanks for the report and sorry for the rough experience. Three things that might explain what you're seeing:
First, Tyto isn't built for iPad yet, just iPhone. Sorry, I should have made that clearer up front. iPad support is on the roadmap but the current version is iPhone only.
Second, on the "stuck on the email" part, I suspect you're on the Google warning screen that says "this app hasn't been verified." That screen is hard to get past with VoiceOver because the "Advanced" link is small and easy to miss. To get through it, swipe down until you hear "Advanced", double tap it, then double tap "Go to Tyto (unsafe)" when it appears. Google is rolling that warning out because verification needs a paid security audit I'll do post launch.
Third, the new updates ship over the air silently, so there's nothing to download. To pull them in, force quit Tyto, reopen, force quit, reopen one more time. Second cold launch will be on the latest version. That said, this won't help on iPad.
If you have access to an iPhone, would love for you to try it there.
Emmanuel
interested in testing
I beleave i expressed interest in this app previously. still interested in testing. my email is daniel.angus.macdonald@gmail.com. not sure if my contact forum is public or not. hope to hear soon.