Google always focuses on accessibility. Its no doubt that they will emphasize on accessibility in Android as well. Speech Recognition apps always have a special place at play store which are used to convert audio to text.
If the user is physically challenged or just a regular person looking for a handy app, these apps can help them to send messages, take down notes or set reminders just by speaking instead of typing.
In this article, we shall discuss the best 5 speech recognition apps found at the play store or by APK’s.
SpeechNotes
This is the app which we recommend to use if you are concerned about accessibility. Apart from easy recognizing your speech, it can also recognize punctuations.
For example, if you say, “Hi John comma I will come late today full stop”, the app will print the text in the format “Hi John, I will come late today.”.
There is a punctuation keyboard which makes dictation easier and faster. There are custom keys which you can use to add commonly used greetings, phrases, signature or names.
Other features include a widget present at the home screen for dictating instantly, Bluetooth support and also the ability to take note while offline.
SpeechTexter
This is another speech recognition app which works both offline as well as online. However, before using it, you should remember that the app uses Google’s coding on the server side.
So, for using offline, you will be required to download certain language packs which you intend to use. Apart from only dictation to speech, the app can also help you to create emails, tweets and SMS messages.
There is also a custom dictionary just like Speech notes where you can add phone numbers, address, and other personal details.
Google Assistant
Talking about Accessibility apps, the one that remains among the top is obviously Google Assistant. Although it cannot help you to dictate custom messages or not, its usability lies in a whole new level.
You can use it to control smart electronic home devices, order food, call a person from your contact as well as ask it to play music on your smart speaker.
You can also use this app to create a list, manage your diary, set custom reminders and add events in your calendar. Although there are other similar apps in the market like Siri by Apple or Microsoft’s Cortana, yet none can beat the AI of Google Assistant.
ListNote
Khymaera developed this app keeping the primary focus on note-taking. You can use it to dictate notes and it will immediately convert it into text. The app also saves your notes so that you can use them later.
There is a minor disadvantage. The UI is a little outdated. However, regular updates make the backend of this application up to the mark and loaded with interesting features like password protected and encrypted notes, customizable categories, etc.
One more thing that will annoy you is ads. The app is open source and since it is add supported, there is no option to remove those ads.
Voice Notes
Although this app is not meant for taking long notes o essays, it is quite useful for taking quick notes. Suppose you are at a lecture and not in the mood of taking down notes.
You can use this app to save the note in audio format and listen to it later. Or you can use its speech recognition feature to convert the specific parts of the lecture to short notes. The app also provides a reminder feature where you can customize alerts and other reminders.
Speech recognition apps are not that much used these days. However, with the increasing use of smart devices in the coming days, people will prefer commanding via voice than typing a text. In short, these apps are going to make our life much easier.