Skip to main content

How to turn on text to speech on iPhone

4 minute read · updated October 28, 2026

5 sources: 1 peer-reviewed research, 4 product documentation

Open Settings, tap Accessibility, then Read & Speak, and turn on Speak Selection or Speak Screen. Then select text and tap Speak, or drag two fingers down from the top edge to have the whole screen read. On iOS 18, the same switches sit under Accessibility > Spoken Content.

See your own reading experiences in one clear summary.Take the free 8-minute reading check

Your iPhone can read text out loud without any extra app, and without turning on VoiceOver. Apple offers two main switches: one reads only the words you select, and the other reads the whole screen from the top.[1] They can help with hearing a long email on a walk, catching typos in your own writing, or resting your eyes.

Turn on Speak Selection and Speak Screen

Turn on spoken text (iOS 26 and iOS 27)

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Tap Accessibility, then tap Read & Speak.[1]
  3. Turn on Speak Selection if you want a Speak button for text you select.
  4. Tap Speak Screen, then turn on Speak Screen if you want to hear everything on the screen.
  5. To hear part of a page, select the text, then tap Speak.
  6. To hear the whole screen, swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen, or ask Siri to "Speak screen."[1]

While Speak Screen is talking, a small set of controls appears. Apple says you can use them to pause, change the speaking rate, skip forward or back, or use Speak on Touch, which reads from the text you tap.[1]

Settings worth trying

The same Read & Speak screen holds the controls that change how the voice sounds. Apple lists these options:[1]

  • Voices: choose a voice and a dialect.
  • Default Language and Detect Languages: set the main language, or let the phone switch when a passage changes language.
  • Speaking Rate: drag the slider.
  • Pronunciations: dictate or spell out how a name or term should be said.
  • Highlighting (inside Speak Screen and Speak Selection): choose the highlight style, color and selection for text that is being spoken.
  • Show Controller and Controller Actions: keep the controls on screen, and choose what a long press or double-tap does.

Accessibility Reader for longer text

For articles, PDFs or notes, Accessibility Reader may be more comfortable than reading the original layout. It shows text in a full-screen view with its own fonts, colors and spacing, and it can read the text aloud.[3]

Set up and open Accessibility Reader

  1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak > Accessibility Reader and turn it on. Turn on Autoplay if you want reading to start by itself.[3]
  2. Open the app with the text you want.
  3. Triple-click the side button and tap Accessibility Reader, open it from Control Center, or tap the Share button and choose Accessibility Reader.[3]
  4. Tap Play to listen. Tap the speaking-rate button (it starts at 1x) to choose a speed.[3]

Apple notes that some Accessibility Reader extras, such as summaries and Content Cleanup, depend on Apple Intelligence, which needs a supported iPhone and is not available in every language or region.[3] Text size and spacing inside the reader are covered in changing text size and spacing on iPhone.

Troubleshooting

  • No Speak button after selecting text. Check that Speak Selection is switched on under Read & Speak.[1]
  • The two-finger swipe does nothing. Speak Screen has its own switch inside the Speak Screen menu. You can also ask Siri to "Speak screen."[1]
  • A word is read wrongly every time. Add it under Pronunciations.[1]
  • The voice switches language in the middle of a sentence, or never does. Try turning Detect Languages on or off, and check Default Language.[1]

To hear text copied from somewhere else, drop it into our focus reader, a page that speaks pasted text while showing a single line. Safari also has its own Listen to Page option, covered in Safari Reader.[4]

Quick answers

Do I need VoiceOver to have my iPhone read text?

No. Apple says Speak Selection and Speak Screen work even when VoiceOver is turned off.[1]

Can I make the iPhone voice read faster?

Yes. Drag the Speaking Rate slider under Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak, or use the rate control that appears while Speak Screen is reading.[1]

Where is Spoken Content on my iPhone?

On iOS 18 it is under Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content.[2] On iOS 26 and later the same features are under Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak.[1]

Review status

Source-checked, not expert-reviewed

Drafted with AI assistance. Each factual claim was checked against the source it links to on 2026-10-28. No clinician, psychologist or dyslexia specialist has reviewed this page. See the claims register.

Sources

  1. [1]Hear iPhone speak the screen, selected text, and typing feedback (iPhone User Guide). Apple, 2026. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  2. [2]Hear iPhone speak the screen, selected text, and typing feedback (iPhone User Guide, iOS 18 version). Apple, 2024. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  3. [3]Read or listen to text in apps with Accessibility Reader on iPhone. Apple, 2026. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  4. [4]Listen to a webpage in Safari on iPhone. Apple, 2026. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  5. [5]Does use of text-to-speech and related read-aloud tools improve reading comprehension for students with reading disabilities? A meta-analysis. Wood SG, Moxley JH, Tighe EL, Wagner RK. Journal of Learning Disabilities 51(1):73-84. doi:10.1177/0022219416688170, 2018. Accessed 2026-10-28. Peer-reviewed research

Related reading

Which reading situations come up most for you?

Find out in 8 minutes. Free, no sign-up, skip any question. Your answers stay in your browser.

Start the free reading check

This educational questionnaire summarizes what you tell us about reading and writing. It does not screen for, diagnose, or rule out dyslexia or any other condition.