campaign: More VoiceOver Voices for iOS

By claire, 20 September, 2015

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

hi all,

the quality of voiceover voices have diminished with each major ios update. as a community we really need to put pressure on Apple to improve the quality of these voices. the very least we could ask for is the option to have access to all the voices available on the Mac.please post your opinions on the current state of voiceover voices and I will link this thread to apple accessibility.

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Comments

By Siobhan on Thursday, February 25, 2016 - 23:19

The processor is to slow on anything older then those models plus six six plus and six s and s plus models are fine with it. i onlyuse the siri male voice because the female lags like nothing i've ever seen.

By Chris on Thursday, February 25, 2016 - 23:19

Hello,

If you want to remove unwanted voices from OS X, go to /system/library/speech/voices and delete any folders with the voice names you don't want. I have freed up a ton of space by deleting all the Nuance voices including the compact voices which still take up a little bit of space when added up. I now only have the standard Alex and the other Macintalk voices on my system. This has resulted in a reduction in the voices folder from about a gig to 450 mb. Keep in mind that you may not be able to empty your trash after doing this. Simply reboot your computer and empty the trash.

Going back to iOS, I'd also like to have more control over the voice pitch. This includes the option to adjust the current pitch and also control how capital letters are spoken. I got tired of capital a and all that nonsense a long time ago. iOS 9 didn't help because it just says cap. I work more efficiently when the voice pitch rises for capitals. Again, this is already on the Mac, although it still says capital for the Nuance voices.

By MissThea on Thursday, February 25, 2016 - 23:19

Why the blazes shouldn't we ask for what we want? Why should we subscribe to 'crumb theology', as I call it--the pervasive, crawling on hands and knees gratitude some blind people seem to subscribe to. When the sighted want something, they clamor for it and get it. We're paying customers too, darn it, and if I want an African-American voice or a Caribbean or a Hawaiian voice, that's my business. Wanting more doesn't mean you don't appreciate what you have, but I claim the rights any sighted person gets automatically. Most of the games are made for them. Most of the apps are made for them. No 'crum theology' for me, thanks.

No one has suggested it isn't your business to ask for a specific dialect, but you are flawed in your argument. Do you not accept the fact you're talking about such a difference in accents, in speech patterns that they're's no way in any conceivable possibility that your request even just for little old you, could be obtained because of the amount of technology that would need to be devised and work created? Just think how much more of a headache you would cause, if you got your wish and had a voice of Carabean speech put on, or African American, you'd still piss off someone because they might want things spoken differently? Not usre what i mean? Look at the person who doesn't like Samantha says Alabama when seeing the word al. It's not a problem for ninety nine point nine percent of people, but it is for a small population of users. I'm not saying you're ludicrous for wanting your voice of choice, just suggesting you perhaps haven't thought through the amount of once you got what you want, how much more you would want it improved, changed, then what if another person wanted things differently? I can only see more delays, be sensible. Apple is pushing it's limits now with all the new flagship OS and watch they have out. But if you're so gung ho, i hope you get your wish, people of different ethnicities work at apple and you have your voice of choice.

With all respect, Nuance, or Apple, or whoever created these dialects got the ball rolling, as far as the type of bells and whistles we blind folks might want. There isn't just one English language. There's Australian, South African, Irish, British, and even East Indian. I rather doubt they serve any utilitarian purpose. So, someone may want a Hawaiian English dialect, or a Jamaican, or an African-American, or any number of voices. People like bells and whistles, and are willing to pay for them. To be sure, Apple is leading the way in technology. I'd just like to be able to write them and tell them what I'd like in future releases.

By Mitchell on Thursday, February 25, 2016 - 23:19

I mean, I'd love more voices, but I don't feel that we have to gripe about it. From my perspective, "sighted people get everything they want like keyboards, why can't we have voices?" The truth is, that's life. The world doesn't revolve around us, because we're a small community. It might take a while to actually program a voice, and doing it for only a few people, while the can make improvements to the system for the general public with Voiceover support, wouldn't that be more productive? Not saying that it's bad to want more, but we need to realize that Apple can't apeal to everyone.

Fair enough, but why not? Our money's just as good as sighted people's. Sure, let's make improvements to the whole system, which would include Siri not acting as if it knows what we mean when we write "Al". Maybe one of these years, in honor of Black History month, they'll bring out a nice, new African-American voice, and yours truly will be happy to pay for it.

By Luke on Thursday, February 25, 2016 - 23:19

Admittedly, when I left my original comment on this thread I was in a rush and did not have a chance to read very many of the other comments. I just sat down and read the entire thread, and I definitely saw some very thoughtful and compelling arguments in favor of either more voices, better voices, or better control over voice parameters. Another user reminded us all of a great point -- Voiceover is still a fantastic screen reader, and I don't know about you guys… But it is the reason that I have this phone in my hand today, and I can take part in a world formerly only known to the sighted. I do just want to reemphasize how thankful I am for all that Apple has done for the blind community, and for those with other impairments as well.

In fact, we get to have these conversations about the finer details of voiceover because it's core functionality is so strong. I want to make sure I'm never taking for granted just how great that is. Now, all that being said, it still has issues… Issues that I believe could even further enhance our experience as iOS and Macintosh users. I have a better appreciation now for those of you that see additional voices as a higher priority than I do. I still stand by my original comment, but I appreciate you all opening my mind a bit. I love this community!

By TJT 2001 on Thursday, February 25, 2016 - 23:19

I am of two minds on this issue, so I am not going to write down my thoughts as I'll just confuse myself even more.

To the people who want more voices, I would recommend the Android operating system. With that mobile operating system, you are able to choose the synthesiser from nearly ten available options, and you have more control of the voice, the pitch, the rate and the intonation among other things. Or, you can use an app like Voice Dream Reader for most of your reading rather than VoiceOver itself.

In my limited experience, I have noticed that it is mainly people who are not proficient braille readers that ask for more voices. Is this so?

And you are never going to find a natural-sounding African American voice. I'm sorry, but the people who would want that is just too small a population. The only way I can think you would get a voice like that is through the eSpeak synthesiser.