How do I get my iPhone to read text from a picture?

Open VoiceRead, tap Scan and hold the camera over the page; it captures automatically and reads the text aloud. For a photo or screenshot you already have, use Live Text: touch and hold the text in the Photos app, select it, tap Copy, then paste it into VoiceRead.

Does scanning work without internet?

Yes. Text recognition happens on the phone, and the standard voices read the result offline. Premium voices need a connection.

Yes. Scanning and listening with the standard voices are free and need no account. Pro adds premium voices and unlimited audio downloads. See pricing.

Can I turn a scan into an audio file?

Yes. In Studio, start a new voiceover with Scan, generate it and export an M4A; Pro adds lossless WAV and an .srt captions file.

CAMERA SCAN · OCR · IPHONE · IPAD

Read text from an image aloud: point, scan, listen

Read text from an image aloud with your camera: hold your iPhone over a printed page and VoiceRead captures it automatically, recognizes the text on the phone and reads it to you. It works offline, so a letter, a menu or a handout can be heard anywhere.

Download on theApp Store

Auto-captureSeveral pages per scanWorks offlinePrinted text

VoiceRead reading a scanned page aloud with the current sentence highlighted

HOW TO SCAN AND READ ALOUD

Paper to voice in three steps

01Open the scannerTap Scan in VoiceRead and hold your phone over the page so the whole page fits in the frame.
02Hold steadyOnce text is detected, the page is captured and straightened automatically. Turn to the next page and keep going, or finish.
03ListenThe text is recognized on your phone and opens in the reader, each sentence highlighted as it's read.

PRINTED PAGES, READ ALONG

Paper that reads like text, not like a photo.

OCR text to speech is only as good as the text it gets. VoiceRead puts broken lines back into paragraphs and rejoins words split by a hyphen at the end of a line, so a scanned page sounds like the original — and the highlight follows the voice through it.

How read-along works

WHAT PEOPLE SCAN

For the paper that lands in your hands.

Letters and formsMail from the bank or the school, a lease, a set of instructions. Hear it first, then decide what needs a closer look.

MenusHave a printed menu read to you at the table, at your own speed.

Handouts and worksheetsClass handouts, meeting agendas and printed slides, scanned page by page and kept like any other document, with your place saved.

Pages from a print bookA chapter of a paperback you own, a few pages at a time. Add a note to any sentence as you listen.

TIPS FOR A GOOD SCAN

Light, flat, steady.

Text recognition (OCR) runs on the phone itself, so scanning works on a plane, in a basement or abroad without data — and with a standard voice, so does listening. What matters is a clear picture of the page.

If VoiceRead can't find any text, it says so. Try again with more light, holding the phone parallel to the page.

Even light, without your own shadow across the page
Phone parallel to the page, the whole page in the frame
Folded letters flattened, fingers off the text
Clear printed text works best; tiny or faded type is harder

SCANNED PDFS

Have a scanned PDF instead of paper?

A scanned PDF holds pictures of pages with no text layer behind them, so there are no words to pull out. Reading those files directly is coming soon. Until then, scan the paper pages with the camera.

Scanned PDF import Coming soonText recognition for scanned PDFs you open from the Files app is on the way.

Check a PDF in secondsOpen it in the Files app and press and hold a word. If you can select it, the PDF has a text layer and VoiceRead reads it today.PDF reader aloud

Keep a scan as audioStart a Studio voiceover with Scan, generate it and export an M4A. Your first 3 downloads are free.Export options

FAQ

Scanning questions

How do I get my iPhone to read text from a picture?: Open VoiceRead, tap Scan and hold the camera over the page; it captures automatically and reads the text aloud. For a photo or screenshot you already have, use Live Text: touch and hold the text in the Photos app, select it, tap Copy, then paste it into VoiceRead.
Does scanning work without internet?: Yes. Text recognition happens on the phone, and the standard voices read the result offline. Premium voices need a connection.
Can VoiceRead read a scanned PDF?: Not yet. A scanned PDF has no text layer, and reading those files directly is coming soon. Until then, scan the printed pages with the camera.
Is scanning free?: Yes. Scanning and listening with the standard voices are free and need no account. Pro adds premium voices and unlimited audio downloads. See pricing.
Can I turn a scan into an audio file?: Yes. In Studio, start a new voiceover with Scan, generate it and export an M4A; Pro adds lossless WAV and an .srt captions file.