Spoken, an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technology specialist, has released an update of its assistive communication app, which include expanded personalisation options, hundreds of high-resolution icons, and five voices with new accents.

At its core, the app, Spoken – Tap to Talk AAC, is designed to help people express their thoughts and ideas through their phone or tablet. The user taps on the screen to build sentences quickly, and the app speaks them automatically with a wide range of natural-sounding voices.

The app designed for people unable to use their voice due to nonverbal autism, aphasia, stroke, or other speech and language impairments. It uses AI to learn from how the user talks and predicts the words they want next.

As part of Spoken’s latest update, the app now has hundreds more icons that users can choose from when using the app to communicate, including topics like countries, sports, anatomy, food, clothing, and nature.

Most fall into two categories: supporting conversations about current events or daily life. The addition of icons for over 50 countries, alongside icons for words like “pope,” “president,” and various sports, make it easier to discuss trending events from across the globe. Meanwhile, the new anatomy, clothing, food, and nature icons help users talk about themselves, their surroundings, and everyday experiences.

Version 1.9.1 also introduces an “incognito mode” setting, allowing users to temporarily turn off the app’s ability to learn from how they talk. This will prevent certain conversations from influencing future word suggestions.

Spoken says the intent behind this feature is to allow users to talk about private subjects — such as medical conditions — without needing to worry about the same words popping up in everyday conversation.

Additionally, the update gives users more personalisation options with two new settings based on user feedback. The new “Keep Saved Phrases Open” option enables users to deliver a series of prepared talking points without breaking their flow of conversation. Spoken says this feature is great for presentations, ordering food, talking to a doctor, or any other planned conversations.

There is also a new toggle to hide scroll arrows that helps reduce the number of distractions and keep the app as minimal as possible.

Five new voices — Hawthorn, Jessamine, Lilac, Lotus, and Tawari — have been added to the app to help more users find voices they can identify with. Lotus marks the debut of an Indian accent in Spoken, while Tawari is the first New Zealand voice. Hawthorn, Jessamine, and Lilac bring greater variety to the existing selection of American accents.

Spoken – Tap to Talk AAC is available to download on the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android devices.

Last year, Spoken updated its assistive app with the ability for users to share audio clips via text, email, or any other messaging app.