Listen2 Reader

Category
Books

Description of App

70+ neural voices in 8 languages. Word-level highlighting. PDF, EPUB, DOCX & DAISY support. No subscriptions, no cloud - runs entirely on your device.
Listen 2 Reader runs neural text-to-speech directly on your iPhone or iPad. No cloud services. No subscriptions. No accounts.
Most text-to-speech apps either use basic system voices or require monthly payments for cloud processing. Listen2 runs neural voice models locally on your device, giving you natural-sounding speech without ongoing costs or privacy tradeoffs.
WHAT MAKES LISTEN2 DIFFERENT
Neural Voices, Not System Voices
Listen2 uses Piper neural network models, the same technology behind professional TTS systems. Choose from over 70 voices across 8 languages — English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Hungarian, and Swedish. Download once, use forever. Every voice included with the app.
Machine Learning Word Sync
Our CTC forced alignment system uses ML to match audio to text at the word level. Watch each word highlight precisely as it's spoken — even in our first non-Latin script integration, Russian Cyrillic.
Smart Document Reading
Our PDF engine handles multi-column layouts, filters out page numbers and footnotes, and rejoins hyphenated words. AI Vision extraction handles scanned and image-based PDFs. Full support for EPUB, DOCX, and DAISY digital talking books.
True Offline Privacy
Document processing, text normalization, and speech synthesis all happen on-device. Your documents never leave your phone. No cloud uploads. No accounts. No tracking.
FEATURES
* 70+ neural voices in 8 languages
* Audition any voice with instant audio samples
* Word-by-word or sentence highlighting
* PDF, EPUB, DOCX, DAISY, Plain Text, Markdown (tag stripped) support
* Collections — organize documents like mixtapes with intros, cover art, and auto-advance playback
* Paste text directly from clipboard or say "Hey Siri, read my clipboard with Listen 2"
* 0.5x to 2.5x playback speed
* Background playback with lock screen controls
* Import from Files, links, or other apps
* Atkinson Hyperlegible and OpenDyslexic fonts
* Full VoiceOver support — line-by-line rotor navigation, explore-to-seek during playback, Magic Tap play/pause
WHO IT'S FOR
* Commuters turning drive time into learning time
* Students reviewing papers and textbooks
* Professionals handling confidential documents privately
* VoiceOver users looking for a fully accessible TTS reader
* Readers with dyslexia who benefit from audio-visual sync
* Anyone tired of TTS subscriptions
One-time purchase. 7-day free trial. No subscriptions.

Version

App Store version:1.4.0 beta version: 1.5.0

Free or Paid

Free With In-App Purchase

Device(s) App Was Tested On

iPhone

iOS Version

26.4

Accessibility Comments

Everything that should be labelled is labelled. The interface is not cluttered and where there are many elements present. The reason for their presence is clearly indicated i.e. the voice library. Download play sample and delete functions are all placed on a VoiceOver rotor instead of being separate buttons on a screen to minimise interface clutter. I would call this an app with advanced features that still manages to behave like a simple text reader when required. Text display with VoiceOver still needs to be tested with a braille display but shifting positions in the text is easily done with either search table of contents or navigating by line through the text. If you explore by touch and land on the line you think you want you can just double tap on it and the playback will start from that point if using the beta version 1.5 instead of the App Store version 1.4 you will also discover the presence of text boxes next to The speech sliders for speed and expressiveness. These text boxes are editable field which will allow you to type in your desired speed setting rather than using the slider if you have dexterity concerns.

VoiceOver Performance

VoiceOver reads all page elements.

Button Labeling

All buttons are clearly labeled.

Usability

The app is fully accessible with VoiceOver and is easy to navigate and use.

Other Comments

before I get to my comments regarding the app itself, I need to give a shout out to the developer of this app Zach. He has done an incredible job of making this app accessible even before I had the pleasure of offering feedback on both VoiceOver related issues and some with speech granularity. I have tested both the current App Store version 1.4 and the beta version 1.5 though technically began using this app at version 1.3. He is aware of the bug relating to the pronunciation editors lack of a Preview button and is in the process of working on that. If you choose to give the beta version a try, you will notice the presence of Supertonic TTS alongside the Piper TTS noted in the App Store description. Supertonic is a very good text to speech model but is still in development so be aware that the model itself has quirks, but the implementation of the model has been well done. The developer is extremely responsive to feedback and is interested in learning how we do things and how to best make this app accessible. for anyone who wishes to try the beta version, I will post the link for it in the comments section of this submission. this app is marked as free within a purchase because after the one week free trial you will get to decide if this app is something you can make use of in daily life if so you pay $24.99 one time and you’re done no more payments after that. Ever!

App Store Link

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/listen-2-reader/id6755753624

Developer's Website

https://moonquakemedia.com/apps/listen2/

Recommendations

1 people have recommended this app

Most recently recommended by blind-harper 4 hours 12 minutes ago

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