Two Engines, One App
Since day one, VocaRead has generated speech entirely on your iPhone: no cloud, no account, no audio leaving the device. Version 3.0 adds a second reading engine, running side by side with the current one. It's the result of months of work on a new generation of neural voices that run on the Apple Neural Engine, and it covers more than 30 languages.
We've shipped it as a beta rather than replacing what already works. You choose when to try it, and you can go back at any moment.
How to Turn It On
- Open VocaRead and go to Settings › Voices.
- Turn on "Try the new reading engine".
- Pick a voice from the new list and press play on any book.
Your existing voices, downloads, speed settings, and pronunciation rules stay exactly as they were. Turning the switch off restores the previous engine instantly.
Preview Before You Download
Every voice has a short preview you can play right from the list, before downloading anything. It's the fastest way to find a narrator that fits a book — a warm voice for a novel, a crisp one for a technical manual. Previews are also offered during onboarding, so first-time users pick a voice they actually like rather than a default.
What to Expect
- Natural prosody. Sentence rhythm, pauses at commas, and intonation on questions are noticeably closer to a human reader.
- Consistent speed. Reading speed is now canonical: 1.0× is the same tempo on both engines, so switching voices doesn't change how long a chapter takes.
- Beta behavior. Some languages are more polished than others. Some rare words may be pronounced differently than with the current engine — custom pronunciations apply to both.
- Same privacy. Generation stays on-device. Once a voice is downloaded, it works in airplane mode.
Which Engine Should I Use?
If you listen mostly in English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese, try the new engine first — those voices have been tuned the most. For other languages, listen to the previews and keep whichever sounds better to you for that book. There's no wrong answer, and you can change the voice per book, not just globally.
Help Us Improve It
Beta means we want to hear about it. If a sentence sounds off, a number is read strangely, or a language you care about needs work, use the support email in your profile. Real examples from real books are what shape the next release.
Curious how on-device TTS compares to recorded audiobooks? Read our honest comparison. Or just download VocaRead, flip the switch, and listen for yourself — every book includes 90 free minutes.