Typing on a glass keyboard is fast, but it is also easy to lose track of what you have written — a mistyped letter here, an overzealous autocorrection there. If you have ever wished your iPhone would simply read back what you type, it can. Buried in the Accessibility settings is a feature called Typing Feedback that speaks characters, words, and even autocorrections aloud as you type.
It is designed as an accessibility aid, but it is useful for anyone: proofreading a message without staring at the screen, catching typos in a noisy room, or confirming each keystroke while you learn a new keyboard layout. Best of all, you can fine-tune exactly what gets spoken. Here is how to turn it on.
What is Typing Feedback?
Typing Feedback lives under Spoken Content in the iPhone’s Accessibility settings. When enabled, your iPhone uses its built-in voice to announce what you type. You can have it speak every letter, every completed word, autocorrections and auto-capitalizations as they appear, or any combination of these. Apple’s own guide to Typing Feedback describes each option in detail.
How to turn on spoken feedback while typing
Follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap Accessibility, then tap Spoken Content.
- Tap Typing Feedback.
- Turn on Characters to hear each letter spoken as you type it.
- Turn on Speak Words to hear each word read aloud as soon as you finish typing it.
- Turn on Speak Auto-text to hear autocorrections and auto-capitalizations announced as they happen.
- Optionally, turn on Character Hints to hear the phonetic name of each letter, and enable Hold to Speak Predictions to hear text predictions by touching and holding a suggested word.
Fine-tune what your iPhone says
You do not have to enable everything at once. If hearing every letter feels overwhelming, start with Speak Words only — it gives you a natural confirmation rhythm without constant chatter. Character Hints is the most detailed option and is aimed at users who need precise feedback; most people will want to leave it off. You can also adjust the speaking voice and rate in the main Spoken Content screen, which affects Typing Feedback too. And if you use dictation with automatic punctuation, spoken feedback pairs nicely with it for hands-free text entry.
If you ever transfer your accessibility settings to a new iPhone, your Typing Feedback preferences come along, so you will not need to set this up twice. The feature also works with keyboard haptics, giving you both a spoken and a tactile confirmation of each keystroke.
If it still doesn’t work
If you hear nothing after turning the switches on, first check that your iPhone is not muted and the volume is up — spoken feedback follows the media volume. Make sure you are typing with the on-screen keyboard; some third-party keyboards handle accessibility announcements inconsistently, so test with Apple’s keyboard first. If words are spoken but letters are not (or vice versa), revisit the Typing Feedback screen — each toggle is independent, and it is easy to enable one while leaving another off.
Frequently asked questions
Does Typing Feedback work in every app?
Yes. Because it operates at the system level, Typing Feedback works in any app where you can type — Messages, Mail, Safari, Notes, and third-party apps alike. It is part of the same Spoken Content system described in the iPhone User Guide.
Will spoken feedback slow down my typing?
No. The speech is generated in real time and does not block input, so you can keep typing at full speed. If the voice feels like it lags behind, try a faster speaking rate in Spoken Content settings, or limit feedback to words instead of individual characters.
Wrapping up
Typing Feedback is one of those quiet iPhone features that, once enabled, is hard to give up. Whether you use it as an accessibility aid or simply as a second pair of ears for your typos, it takes less than a minute to switch on — and you can tune it to be as chatty or as quiet as you like.
