Announcing the first public beta of Runa TTS for iOS: bringing the high quality, natural sounding voices from ReadSpeaker to VoiceOver and other apps that rely on Apple's speech synthesis API's.

My friend gave me a link even before this was posted and I like it a lot. Works great on iOS, however certain bugs still exist, for example the Paul voice pops from time to time when speech stops.

Not sure if the voice will currently persist across device restarts, but I tried restarting after adding to my rotor and when switching back after a restart it worked. You literally select the voices you want, hit the install x voices button at the bottom, then they show in VoiceOver to be added to the rotor. I didn't even have to restart VO.

As for pricing, here is ReadSpeaker's licensing page for their TTS voices, this isn't what we will pay as users, it's what businesses pay. https://www.readspeaker.com/pricing/

I was wondering what this aapp does. What is it used for. It sounds interesting, but does it replace voiceover or Is it just a supplament.

No issues and voices sound clear. Enjoyingit so far

I've just installed and so far, it's working well. I'm using US English Kate but have also installed Australian English Mia.

Hi Don,
This app isn't meant to replace voiceover. Instead, it allows you to use different voices which don't come with the screen reader on its own with it.
Hope this helps.

I got the Testflite link last night and love these voices. I am concerned about the pricing once public beta ends, I would rather pay a one time purchase for the app rather than a subscription and paying per voice, for example here in the UK a fair price could be £34.99 at most for the app, which gives you the full suite of voices to download. I say this because there are a lot of us that cannot afford to pay close to £100 for TTS voices.

I am willing to purchase this TTS solution if required, as I find it significantly superior to Vocalizer voices and ideal for VoiceOver users. Thank you for developing this application. I look forward to future beta releases.

Hello everyone.

I downloaded Runa TTS last night, and it works amazingly well with VoiceOver given it's public beta. I am currently using Julie, but I also have Kate and Paul which brings me personal nostalgia as I'm sure thesecame with Kurzwel 1000 back in the day?

Thank you; we await further betas and how the final product will look in terms of pricing etc.

Thank you for that, that is much appreciated, since I’ve seen a lot of things where the end result is overpriced and not feasible for those of us who’s financial situation is not the best, thank you for reassuring us that this will be fairly priced.

I've been running this beta since yesterday, and I'm very impressed with it so far. The only suggestion I have, would be to provide voice samples in the app. The only way I have found to check out the voices, is to download them first. If we could preview the voice before downloading, I think that would help. Keep up the great work.

Hey there, I’m really happy you’re doing this. You’re bringing voices to a lot of languages that don’t have good voices right now. I’m a student of Welsh, and I’ve tried two inadequate solutions. For now I was using a braille display but I don’t need to anymore because you actually have a decent Welsh voice. I’ve always said I don’t think I would pay subscription for voices, but I honestly think for this one I would.

Hello. I also downloaded the app via test flight today and love it so far. I currently installed Beth, Julie, Erin, and Kate on my phone and they work well with VO. I have to say they are very high quality voices. I am with Alex on paying a fee for the suite of voices i.e. U.S. English voices. If there is an option to purchase individual voices, I would choose Erin enhansed, Beth Enhansed, and Paul enhansed. Do you have an estimate of when this will be release to the public? I look forward to any future updates and or feedback. Thank you again. :)

I have been using this since yesterday, and it is great! I love that the clarity of the voices isn't lost at high speeds. Right now I am using the Erin voice. I am really hoping there will be an option to purchase voices individually, since I would truly be happy with just this one voice.

I am on the TestFlight and the app is installed on my mac, however voices do not work.

I'm very concerned about pricing. This would allow us to provide feedback and if you require adjustments you can make them. I will not subscribe it is either a one off or I'm out on it.

Agreed. However, once you have downloaded a voice, you can listen to a sample through VoiceOver's speech interface. Just like you would listen to a sample of the default VoiceOver voices. 😊

HTH.

The voices I have tried (U.S. English Paul, Mark, and Kate) sound really good and perform better than any other third-party speech solution on iOS so far. NeoSpeech has never been my first choice of TTS, but the work you have done here is commendable and I would gladly make a one-time purchase for these voices so long as the price point is reasonable. A subscription is an absolute non-starter though I appreciate that others may feel differently. Keep up the good work and I wish you much success.

I've got Julie and Beth so far, and really couldn't be more pleased! While I am hesitant to pay subscriptions, I think i actually would for this, though like many a one-time purchase is preferred. Keep up the lovely work, it feels so good to have such pleasant voices on my phone! I extra appreciate how snappy they are when turned up to high speeds.

Agree with others, would gladly pay a one time purchase for this TTS engine. Currently, my favorite voices are US English Beth, Australian English Jack and Mia, and UK English Alice.
Really great job bringing this TTS engine to iOS. Keep up the great work. 😊👍

Fun to play with, but you can't call 10 to 12 MB on average as enhanced! Alex, for example, is almost a gigabyte!

I prefer these voices to Alex. It's all about personal preference.

Good for you, but that's not my point, the developer calls these voices enhanced and they are clearly not. Feel free to pay for a 10 MB voice if you wish. Cheers.

The size has nothing to do with the quality, neural voices are often smaller file sizes, the siri voices average 60 mb, I honestly have no idea why the Alex voice still has such a massive file size when so many other high quality voices don't.

If $45 is the price I'm absolutely out. It will never be my full time TTS. That is what Eloquence is for. I would at most only purchase Kate and Paul. but at $30 to $45 I can't justify that.

These wishes used to come with the curds while 1000. I liked Kait. I wish these voices were just bundled in five the app like they are with the size of though that would be easier for me. I’m trying to tap through different settings and print things on the rotor stuff like that. The country just me though I would wait for something like this is available in the App Store before I look at this though.

I would absolutely pay $45, even 60 or $70 for this if it was a one time fee. And here is why.
Back in the day, when kate and Paul were being sold, it was $35 for both voices. In this case, let's say I paid $70. I would get access to so many more voices in so many other languages. This is definitely worth something like that because it's just so hard to get good voices on iOS these days.

This name brand sounds very obvious, and even with a southern accent,it just doesn't sound appealing. Also pricewise, no thank ou for these voices because I have been through many issues with VW Kate and Paul ever since they asked everybody to upgrade for a demo.

Hi,

Question: Will this also work on macOS as well or it will only work on iOS for now?

as fe as Alex, the voice is 911.7 B. I'm the reason t is so. or, I like to thjink. I submitted feedback in one of the macos betas years ago, for Alex to be as close to Leopard as possible. Ventura broughjt that. and I love it. would deffenatly pay for these voices as well.

I've noticed that the app has so far used 9 percent of my battery. I'll charge my phone tonight, start fresh tomorrow, and see what happens. I did download several voices, but since they aren't that large, I wouldn't think that would drain the battery. I'm curious to do more testing, and to hear if it's affecting anyone else's battery. Just for reference, I have an iPhone 17.

I'd be interested in checking this app out, but am not sure it's something I'd pay a lot of money for. I won't even consider it if there ends up being some sort of subscription, but if there is a 1 time purchase option, I will at least consider it, finances permitting.

I would appreciate voice samples as well. It would be nice to hear voices before downloading them so that we know if we want to use up space on our devices for them. Other than that, it seems like a pretty neat app so far.

I installed this last night and the voices work so much better than Vocalizer. I appreciate that this will most likely be a one-time purchase for the whole engine as I could honestly see myself using long-term. My iPhone Air has been running a lot cooler since I started using these voices. Currently using Julie.

I noticed there are several voices missing that were very popular, including Hugh, Ashley, James, and another neural voice called Molly. I am wondering if we will get those voices down the line?

I'm sure someone will bicker over this comment, but I am actually digging the standard voices. Currently using Beth (standard) as my daily driver. It is clear sounding, and quite responsive for my needs.
It's not eloquence, because I know someone is gonna bring that up, sooner or later. However, it is a decently clear sounding voice, that is quite responsive and enjoyable to use.

So we don't get to sample voices before deciding to install the voices? Seeing that this is functioning like an add-on, where Apple has opened up its sandbox to allow voices like how they did with Eloquence. This application does have some bells and whistles, but is not a stand alone third-party screen reader. What really is the purpose of this application?

The purpose of this is to give you additional synthesized speech options, besides Vocalizer, Eloquence, and eSpeak NG

Thanks for the great app—it’s really good! I’ve been using it and enjoying it a lot. The only thing I feel is missing is having more Brazilian Portuguese voices. I’m currently using Júlia, and she’s very good, but I’d like to request that you add more Brazilian Portuguese voices, preferably a male voice.

As I've only found one voice I use which I am happy with, I wouldn't want to be paying out a lot of money on an app just to use that one voice. The voices are good, but I can't justify paying for the whole thing to use one. So sadly, if that is the case, as it looks like its going to be, I'll be out unfortunately. Will just enjoy using it while I can in the beta

i was just wondering is there a male south african voice or just the female?

I'd pay something for this, frankly under $75 for a lifetime license wouldn't bother me much. I think the Erin voice is one of the most clear voices I've heard on the iPhone. I've had a few times where Voiceover drops back to one of its own voices, but I'm reading a book with Erin in Easy Reader, and it is going quite well.

As I've been testing this app for the last day, I been toying between Beth and Kate enhansed. I will use Kate as a rotor voice and one of the iOS voices as my primary voice. As mentioned earlier this app does cause battery drain issues. I am using a basic iPhone 15. I look forward to future updates and new voices if possible. Keep up the great work!

I completely agree with you. if its $30 to $45 I'm out I simply can't justify that for one voice. There are other apps I will get far more use out of that can use that $30 to $45 price. Sadly I don't think our thoughts will be considered when they come up with this pricing structure. time will tell. Another issue I have is a mac version might come. Translation if we make enough money it will come otherwise we don't care.
Quote is below right from the developer.
"We might offer MacOS versions at some point later if we see that the product takes off well".
In otherwords if we make enough off it we'll do it otherwise we won't. What happened to providing value to the consumer so I might want to rethink my stance and maybe consider paying their high price? That's right they look at it like a lot of blindness companies lets charge for every little thing. So you would pay $30 to $45 for the iOS version and another $30 to $45 for the mac version. Who is raking in the dough?

Come on people! You are acting like this is the finished product! It is only at the first beta. September is weeks away! Give a grip and let this product develop!

I agree 100%! We still don't even know what the finished aapp is going to look like. That being said, I just got the iPhone Air and didn't realize how much heat Vocalizer was generating until I switched to Runa. Quite frankly, I'd happily pay a one-time fee to use this for life! It makes a huge difference!

"In my opinion, it would be better to have two purchase options for voices: all voices, and a single voice. Because, for example, I only need two voices — Ukrainian and German — and I wouldn't buy all of them for the sake of those two if it costs several dozen euros. But with the option to buy exactly what I need, at a much lower price than for all the voices, I would consider that option."