Adding Text-to-Speech in iOS is Easy | AVSpeechSynthesizer (AVFoundation)

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 Ever wanted your app to talk to your users? Maybe to read out a new message, an article, or give a notification? It sounds hard, but on iOS, it’s surprisingly easy.

Apple has this all figured out. They give you a tool called AVFoundation (the same one used for playing audio and video) that does all the work. You don't need to build any AI or record any voices.

How It Works: The "Speaker" and the "Message"

You only need to know two things:

  1. AVSpeechSynthesizer: Think of this as the speaker. It's the object that actually does the talking.

  2. AVSpeechUtterance: This is the message. It's the piece of text you want the speaker to say


You just create the message (the text) and hand it to the speaker. That's it.

The Code (It's Really This Simple)

To make your app say "Hello Harshana," this is basically all the Swift code you need:


import AVFoundation

let speaker = AVSpeechSynthesizer() let message = AVSpeechUtterance(string: "Hello Harshana, this is easy!")

speaker.speak(message)



Why You Should Use It

  • Accessibility: This is the biggest win. It makes your app usable for people with visual impairments or reading difficulties

  • Convenience: Your users can listen to content while their hands are busy, like when they are driving, cooking, or working out.

  • Engagement: A voice can make an app feel more personal and interactive, especially in learning or guide-style apps.


 

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