Chih Han Lin has updated SpellSynth, available for $2.99. The update is FREE to existing users.
What’s new in version 1.1.8:
- The headline:
- Anew voice character called 1968 ODYSSEY, sitting alongside 1978 LPC and 1986 DECTALK STYLE. Calm, deep- baritone monotone with a deliberately slow cadence – an aesthetic homage to the late- 60s sci-fi Al voices that defined how a generation of audiences expected computers to talk. Same fixed-pitch formant synthesis as 1986 DECTALK STYLE underneath, but pitched a third lower (~65 Hz) and time-stretched 1.6x so each word lands slower.
- The voice picker grew into a 2×2 grid in Settings to make room for the fourth character (DEFAULT / 1968 ODYSSEY / 1978 LPC / 1986 DECTALK STYLE). Cells got bigger labels too – easier to read at arm’s length and less squashed against the bottom of the sheet
- Layout fix:
- iPhone 13 mini with Display Zoom turned on (320pt logical width) was clipping the keypad and the mode bar off the right edge of the screen. The VFD now shrinks to fit narrow canvases instead of dragging everything off-screen with it. Standard- mode mini and every other iPhone are visually unchanged.
- Other polish this round:
- Settings sheet now opens at full height instead of half, so the voice picker isn’t squashed against the bottom edge.
- Onboarding font sizes bumped on the modes and voices pages – the cards were holding 10/11pt labels in space that could comfortably fit 13/16pt.
Type a letter and hear it spoken. Spell the word guess the mystery, or just listen – in crisp retro voices that bring the 1978 spelling toy back to life SpellSynth is a playable love-letter to the 1978 spelling toy that taught a generation to read – rebuilt for iPhone anc iPad. with four game modes and a crunchy VFD display.
Tap a letter and it speaks. Type a word and SpellSynth reads it back.
No accounts, no ads, no internet – just a pocket- sized speech toy that your kids (and you) can pick up for thirty seconds or thirty minutes.
- FREE PLAY
- Type letters and words, hear every one spoken aloud,
- The retro segmented display animates every keystroke.
- SPELL
- SpellSynth says a word. You spell it. Three mistakes and you get the answer, then try a new one. Tap HINT to reveal a letter when vou’re stuck.
- MYSTERY WORD
- The classic “guess the hidder word” game. You get the category and the first letter free; pick letters until the word reveals itself. Six wrong quesses and it’s game over
- SAY IT
- Listen-and-repeat mode for pronunciation practice. SpellSynth spells the word letter by letter, then savs it whole. Tap
- REPEAT
- To hear it again, NEXT for a new word
- BUNDLED AUDIO UNIT (AUv3)
- SpellSynth ships with an AUv3 instrument extension, so the same voice engine loads inside GarageBand, Logic Pro, AUM, Cubasis, and any other AUv3 compatible host. MIDI notes trigger letters; onboard parameters let you pitch, stretch, and warp the voices into something new. Perfect for producers chasing that Kraftwerk / Stereolab / Broadcast sound
- BUILT FOR KIDS. SHAPED FOR PARENTS
- Completely offline. No sign-up, no account, no data
collection. - No ads. No in-app purchases. No external links.
- No camera, no microphone, no location access.
- Works on iPhone and iPad. No internet required after install.
- Completely offline. No sign-up, no account, no data
- WORD LIBRARY
- 90+ pre-recorded words with a clear retro voice
- Add your own vocabulary list – the app falls back to the iOS speech synthesiser for custom entries.
For more information on SpellSynth, click here:
NOTE: Some of the links you click on may be affiliated. Clicking and purchasing using these links helps support and fund The Beat Community. Thanks for your support.
