How to hear iPad speak the screen, selected text, and typing feedback

Even if VoiceOver is turned off, you can have iPad read text on the screen out loud. Have iPad read the entire screen or a specific selection, or hear what you type spoken out loud, character by character or word by word.

Accessibility Reader lets you read or listen to text in a full-screen view, with your own fonts, layouts, and background colors, and you can change how spoken content sounds.

Here’s how to hear iPad speak the screen, selected text, and typing feedback.

Have iPad speak onscreen text

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Accessibility and tap Read & Speak.
3. Turn on and customize any of the following:
   • Accessibility Reader: Turn on Accessibility Reader to read or listen to text in a full-screen view, and customize fonts, layouts, and background colors. Turn on Autoplay if you want Accessibility Reader to automatically read text aloud.

     See Read or listen to text in apps with Accessibility Reader.

   • Speak Screen: Tap Speak Screen. Then turn on Speak Screen to have iPad read all text on the screen, then do any of the following:

     Highlighting: Customize the highlight style, color, and selection for in-app text that is spoken aloud.

     Show Controller: Turn on Show Controller to keep the Speak Screen controls on the screen.

     Controller Actions: Choose what happens when you long press or double-tap the screen. You can also reduce the size of the speech controller when you’re not using it.

   • Speak Selection: Turn on Speak Selection to have iPad speak the text you select. Customize the highlight style, color, and selection for in-app text that is spoken aloud.
4. Do any of the following:
   • Hear selected text (if you turned on Speak Selection): Select the text you want spoken, then tap Speak.
   • Hear all text on the screen (if you turned on Speak Screen): Swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen.

     Use the controls that appear to pause speaking, adjust the rate, navigate forward or back to the content you want to hear, or use Speak on Touch (tap the text you want iPad to read).

Siri: Ask Siri something like, “Speak screen.” Learn how to use Siri.

Change how spoken content sounds

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Accessibility and tap Read & Speak.
3. Adjust any of the following:
   • Voices: Choose a voice and dialect.
   • Default Language: Choose a default language that iPad will speak.
   • Detect Languages: Turn on Detect Languages to have iPad automatically detect and speak multiple languages.
   • Speaking Rate: Drag the slider.
   • Pronunciations: Dictate or spell out how you want certain phrases to be spoken.

See also

• Turn on and practice VoiceOver on iPad
• Get live descriptions of your surroundings
• Detect text around you and have it read out loud using Magnifier on iPad
• Accessibility features for vision on iPad