Speechify - Follow Up Review - Text to Speech App

Holistic Healing Choices
24 Jul 202210:19

TLDRRob Murphy from Holistic Healing Choices reviews the Speechify app, a text-to-speech tool. Despite improvements in voice selection and reading accuracy, the app still has issues with processing speed and navigation. The high subscription cost also raises concerns about its value for money.

Takeaways

  • 📱 Speechify is a text-to-speech app that can read text from photos, text files, or web extensions.
  • 🛠️ The reviewer previously had a poor experience with the app due to bugs but is revisiting it to see if it has improved.
  • 💸 Upon trying to activate a free trial, the reviewer was charged $200, which was an unexpected and negative start.
  • 🌐 The app supports multiple voices in different languages, but some voices are buggy and take a long time to load.
  • 🔊 The app can read text at various speeds, but high-speed reading is largely unintelligible.
  • 👎 A major drawback is that the app doesn't highlight the current word being read, reducing its usefulness.
  • 📖 When scanning pages, the app can misinterpret and mix up text, though it has improved compared to the past.
  • ⏳ Processing time for scanned pages is still long, making it impractical for quick use in some scenarios.
  • 💵 The reviewer finds the price of $200 AUD for the app too steep for the value it provides.
  • 🤔 Overall, the reviewer gives Speechify a 6 out of 10, noting that while it has improved, it still has significant drawbacks that don't justify the premium price.

Q & A

  • What is the main purpose of the Speechify app?

    -The Speechify app is designed to convert text to speech, allowing users to take a photo of text or use the web extension to have the text read aloud to them.

  • What was the reviewer's initial experience with Speechify?

    -The reviewer's initial experience with Speechify was not positive, as they found the app to be buggy and not functioning well during their first review.

  • What issue did the reviewer encounter with the free trial of Speechify?

    -The reviewer experienced an issue where they were charged $200 immediately after attempting to activate the three-day free trial, despite having already used the trial previously.

  • How many languages and voices does Speechify offer?

    -Speechify offers a wide range of voices in multiple languages, providing users with the ability to choose from various options to suit their needs.

  • What was one of the improvements the reviewer noticed in the updated version of Speechify?

    -The reviewer noticed that the text-to-speech technology behind Speechify had improved, resulting in better performance and less garbled output compared to their previous experience.

  • What feature did the reviewer find lacking in Speechify's reading process?

    -The reviewer found that Speechify lacked a feature to show the exact word being spoken, which they felt would have been useful for users trying to follow along.

  • How long does it take for Speechify to process text after scanning a page?

    -The reviewer mentioned that it takes a long time for Speechify to process text after scanning a page, which could be inconvenient for users in a hurry or needing immediate assistance.

  • What was the reviewer's opinion on the price of Speechify's premium subscription?

    -The reviewer felt that the premium subscription price of around $200 Australian was steep for a text-to-speech app and questioned whether the value provided justified the cost.

  • What steps did the reviewer suggest for improving Speechify?

    -The reviewer suggested that improving the processing time, adding more features, and potentially reducing the subscription cost could enhance the user experience and make Speechify more competitive.

  • What rating did the reviewer give to Speechify in their follow-up review?

    -The reviewer gave Speechify a rating of six out of ten, indicating that while it had improved, there was still room for further improvement.

  • Does the reviewer plan to continue using Speechify?

    -The reviewer expressed uncertainty about continuing to use Speechify due to the high cost and mentioned the possibility of exploring cheaper alternatives.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 Speechify App Review: Text-to-Speech Functionality and User Experience

Rob Murphy revisits the Speechify app, a text-to-speech tool that can read text from photos or screens using a web extension. Initially, he experienced bugs, but he's back to see if improvements have been made. The app offers a three-day free trial, but he had a negative first impression when charged $200 without consent. Murphy, who is dyslexic, appreciates the variety of voices available in different languages, although some were buggy. The app allows users to adjust reading speed, but he criticizes the lack of a feature to track the exact word being read. He tests the app's ability to read text from images and finds the technology has improved, but the processing time is slow, which could be problematic in time-sensitive situations. Despite the app's functionality, Murphy is skeptical about its value for the premium price.

05:02

📚 Testing Speechify's Text-to-Speech with Books and User Interface Critique

In this segment, Murphy tests Speechify's text-to-speech capabilities with a book, noting issues with side text from other pages and the need for unnecessary cropping. He appreciates the app's organizational features, such as sorting the library alphabetically. Murphy also explores the app's help section, which includes FAQs and troubleshooting, indicating the developers' efforts to improve the product. He acknowledges that the app works better than before, with less garbled text, but questions whether the premium price is justified. He considers the cost of celebrity voice features and the app's overall value, ultimately giving it a rating of six out of ten, noting that while it's improved, it's still not quite the premium product it's priced as.

10:04

📉 Final Verdict on Speechify: User Feedback and Future Considerations

Wrapping up his review, Murphy invites viewers to share their thoughts on Speechify in the comments section and reminds them to like, share, comment, and subscribe. He reflects on the app's current state, noting it's better than before but still not meeting all his expectations. He contemplates whether the app is worth the premium price and considers looking into cheaper alternatives. Murphy also hints at the possibility of a future follow-up review to see if further improvements have been made, particularly in processing speed, which remains a significant drawback for users in need of quick assistance.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Speechify

Speechify is the name of the text-to-speech app being reviewed in the video. It is a tool that converts text into audible speech, which can be particularly useful for individuals with reading difficulties such as dyslexia. The app allows users to take photos of text, and it reads the content out loud. The reviewer, Rob Murphy, discusses the app's functionality and improvements over time, highlighting its ability to handle various languages and voice options.

💡Text-to-Speech

Text-to-Speech (TTS) refers to the technology that converts written text into spoken words. In the context of the video, TTS is the core functionality of the Speechify app, enabling users to listen to text instead of reading it. This is especially beneficial for people with dyslexia or other reading challenges, as it can make consuming written information more accessible.

💡Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a neurological condition that affects a person's ability to read fluently and accurately. In the video, the reviewer identifies himself as dyslexic, which means reading a sentence for him is as challenging as solving a complex problem might be for others. The Speechify app is presented as a potential aid for individuals with dyslexia to overcome some of these challenges.

💡Voice Options

Voice options refer to the various voices available in the Speechify app for users to choose from when converting text to speech. The app offers a wide range of voices in different languages, which adds to its versatility and user-friendliness. The reviewer mentions the ability to select voices, including a specific example of a 'Google Turkish Female 3' voice.

💡Free Trial

A free trial is a period during which users can use a product or service without charge to evaluate its usefulness before deciding to purchase. In the script, the reviewer describes an unexpected charge of $200 after attempting to activate a three-day free trial of the Speechify app, which indicates a potential issue with the app's billing process.

💡Navigation

Navigation in the context of the video refers to the ease of use and the user interface of the Speechify app. The reviewer finds the navigation to be annoying and mentions that some features, like voice selection, take a long time to load, which affects the overall user experience.

💡Reading Speed

Reading speed is the rate at which text is read or, in the case of TTS apps, spoken. The Speechify app allows users to adjust the speed of the speech, with options ranging from very fast (900 words per minute) to normal talking speeds. The reviewer comments on the impracticality of the fastest setting and the lack of a visual indicator showing the exact word being spoken.

💡OCR (Optical Character Recognition)

OCR is the technology used by the Speechify app to recognize and convert images of text into editable and spoken text. The reviewer discusses the app's OCR capabilities, noting that it has improved but still has issues, such as capturing text from the edges of pages and requiring manual cropping.

💡Processing Time

Processing time refers to the duration it takes for the Speechify app to analyze and convert an image of text into speech. The reviewer finds this time to be lengthy, which can be inconvenient when needing immediate access to spoken information, such as in a classroom or public setting.

💡Subscription

A subscription in this context is a payment model where users pay a recurring fee to access the full features of the Speechify app. The reviewer mentions a premium subscription and the number of words he has left before needing to renew, indicating that there are limitations to the free version of the app.

💡Product Improvement

Product improvement refers to the ongoing efforts by the developers of the Speechify app to enhance its functionality and user experience. The reviewer acknowledges that the app has improved since his previous review but still has room for further development, such as reducing processing time and adding more features.

💡Value for Money

Value for money is the perceived worth or quality of a product in relation to its cost. The reviewer questions whether the Speechify app's premium price is justified, given its current functionality and the issues he experienced. He suggests that there may be cheaper alternatives that offer similar benefits.

Highlights

Reviewed Speechify previously; it was buggy.

Speechify normally offers a three-day free trial, but user was charged $200 immediately.

You can choose from various voices in different languages.

Some voices work, some don't, indicating bugs still present.

Speed options include up to 900 words per minute, which is hard to understand.

Doesn't highlight the word being read, making it hard to follow.

App shows significant improvement in technology, but still has issues.

Takes a long time to process scanned pages, inconvenient for quick use.

Scanned text often includes irrelevant parts from adjacent pages.

App actively improving with updates, but still not up to premium standard.

Premium price ($200+) is considered too high for the current performance.

Potential alternatives might offer better value.

Waiting times for processing pages are impractical in certain scenarios.

Unclear how much of the cost goes to celebrity voice royalties.

Overall rating: 6 out of 10; better than before but still needs improvement.

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