See what
people say.

Visual Hear turns speech picked up by your iPhone or iPad into readable text. It is designed for Deaf and hard-of-hearing people who want to follow face-to-face conversations at work, in shops, while travelling or with family. You can also translate text and review recent conversations.

Allow microphone and speech-recognition access when prompted, then choose the language the other person will speak. Hold the microphone button while they speak and release it when they finish. Keep the device close enough to pick up their voice clearly. The recognised words appear on the screen.

Choose the spoken language and translation language with the language selectors on the main screen. Recognition and translation support depend on the chosen service, language and device. Apple Offline may be unavailable for some languages even when online recognition supports them. The app’s interface languages are listed separately in the App Store.

Yes. Visual Hear supports iPhone with iOS 17 or later and iPad with iPadOS 17 or later. The larger iPad screen can be useful when sharing the text across a table. Check the current App Store compatibility details on your device before downloading.

Select the spoken language and the language you want to read, recognise the speech, then tap Translate. The translation appears below the original text. Use the language-swap button when the direction of the conversation changes. Translation availability depends on the language pair and selected service.

Yes. Use Edit to change recognised text and Speak to read text aloud. If those controls are hidden, enable Text Editing and Speech Synthesis in the app’s Settings. Check the text before sharing or speaking it, especially names and numbers.

Enable Bold Text in Settings. The main screen keeps recognised speech prominent, with the translation beneath it. An iPad gives you a larger display if you prefer more space for reading or showing the conversation to another person.

Open History and select a conversation to review its original text and any saved translation. You can copy or share the text from its detail screen. History is stored on this device and keeps the most recent 50 entries, so share text you want to keep before older entries leave the list or you delete them.

Auto starts with Apple Online when there is a connection and can fall back to an available offline method. Apple Online uses Apple’s speech-recognition service. Apple Offline runs locally where the device and language support it. Whisper Offline runs locally after its model pack is installed. Select a specific offline mode when you want local speech recognition.

Choose Apple Offline for a supported language, or download the Whisper pack in advance and select Whisper Offline. Try a short conversation in that mode before you need it without a connection. Offline recognition still uses your free allowance unless premium access is active. Purchases and restoring purchases need an internet connection.

Apple Offline and Whisper Offline process speech on your device. Apple Online uses Apple’s speech service, and Auto can choose that online route. Translation is separate: compatible installed language pairs can use Apple Translation on iOS 26 or later; otherwise the app may send text to a configured online translation service. Selecting offline speech recognition does not make every translation offline.

Check the spoken language, move the device closer to the speaker and reduce background noise where possible. Ask people to take turns and try a short phrase with another recognition mode. Fast speech, overlapping voices, names and unfamiliar accents can affect the result. Use Edit to correct the text when needed.

You can try speech recognition with a daily time allowance. The main screen shows the free time remaining, and all recognition modes count towards it. Daily and per-session limits can change during app events. Check the current allowance in the app; it resets on a new local calendar day.

Active premium access removes the app’s free recognition-time limits. The App Store lists monthly and yearly subscriptions and a lifetime purchase. Available offers, prices and any trial terms appear in the app before purchase. The lifetime option is a one-time purchase rather than a recurring subscription.

Open Visual Hear Settings and choose Restore Purchases while connected to the internet, using the same Apple Account as for the original purchase. To manage or cancel a subscription, open iPhone or iPad Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions. Restoring a purchase does not create a second purchase.

Check microphone and speech-recognition permissions for Visual Hear in iOS Settings. Check your remaining free time or restore premium access. For Apple Online, check the connection; for Whisper Offline, check that the pack is installed. If the issue continues, contact support with your device model, iOS version, app version, chosen language and recognition mode, and the error shown.