Speech Central

Speech Central is a text-to-speech application that transforms digital documents, web pages, and articles into audio content. Its proprietary engine enhances Apple's voices and artificial intelligence voices with emotional variation in reading. The application supports an extensive range of file formats, including PDF, office documents, and e-books, while maintaining user data privacy.

★★★★★

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Download Speech Central (Official links)

File size: 38.8 MB

The latest version of Speech Central is: 17.0.8

Operating system: Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS

Languages: Spanish, English

Developer: LABSII DOO BEOGRAD

Price: $0.00 USD

Expressive Voice Engine. Speech Central's proprietary engine modifies the outputs of standard system voices and AI voices, such as those from OpenAI, Azure, and Google. This modification incorporates tonal variations and emotional nuances into the synthetic speech, creating a listening experience that overcomes the characteristic monotony of traditional speech synthesis.
Intelligent PDF Processing. The application employs artificial intelligence algorithms to automatically identify and skip structural elements in PDF documents. This includes headers, footers, footnotes, in-text citations, and lengthy web links. This detection prevents interruptions in the reading flow, even in scanned documents where it recognizes titles.
Comprehensive Web Browsing and Reading. Speech Central allows processing web content both in full article format and as lists of headlines, including RSS feeds. Articles can be added directly from the headlines page or from Safari, ensuring a seamless transition. An extension for desktop browsers makes it possible to send articles to the device.
Multi-format Document Support. The application is compatible with a wide array of file formats: PDF (scanned and native), Microsoft Word (.docx), Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx), OpenDocument (.odt, .odp), HTML, MHTML, WebArchive, plain text (.txt), RTF, and e-books in EPUB format.
CarPlay Integration. Speech Central offers native support for CarPlay, allowing control and playback of content through the vehicle's interface. This functionality is designed for consuming information while driving.
Annotation and Knowledge Tools. The application includes built-in features for highlighting text, adding notes, and making annotations during audio playback. These marks can be exported later for review or archiving.
Camera Import. Speech Central can capture text from physical books using the device's camera. The optical character recognition function extracts the text from the image for subsequent conversion to speech.
Voice and Interface Customization. The application presents numerous options to adjust voice parameters, such as speed, pitch, and pauses. It also allows modifying the visual appearance of the interface and the behavior of the playback controls.
Multi-platform Synchronization. Playlist items and the current position in the text are synchronized across Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, and the macOS application. This maintains reading continuity between different devices.
Apple Watch Application. Speech Central includes a standalone application for Apple Watch capable of playing content without depending on the main device. It allows basic playback control directly from the wrist.
Export to Docx Format. The processed text, along with all annotations made by the user, can be exported to a document in .docx format (Microsoft Word), preserving the formatting and marks for later editing.
Audio Control Configuration. The audio control buttons within the application are customizable. The user can assign specific functions to gestures and buttons, offering granular control over playback speed and text navigation.
Automatic Language Detection. The application automatically detects the language of the content and selects an appropriate synthesis voice if available on the system. It supports dozens of languages compatible with the device's text-to-speech technologies.
Export to Audio File. Any text or document loaded into Speech Central can be converted into an audio file (M4A or AIFF) for playback outside the application or on other devices.
Advanced Accessibility. The application has been evaluated and is fully operable with VoiceOver. Its design makes it functional for visually impaired users, and it is free when used exclusively with VoiceOver activated.
Data Privacy. Speech Central operates with a strict privacy model. It does not collect user data, even when synchronization between devices is enabled. All information remains on the user's devices or is transmitted in encrypted form.

The Speech Central application was developed by Ivan Blagajic. Its development began in 2013, initially as a tool for personal news consumption. The first public version was released later, evolving into a multi-feature text-to-speech platform. The core code for the iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS applications is written in Swift, Apple's programming language. Speech Central has been nominated as the best accessible application for iOS in the AppleVis Awards of 2017 and 2020. The application is installed on more than 250,000 devices globally.