This year marks a significant milestone for Speech Central: its 10th anniversary. To celebrate this decade of innovation and excellence, we released a completely rewritten and significantly enhanced version for iOS and macOS. The new release, which took months of relentless work, embodies the same level of polish and user-focused design that Speech Central has been known for over the years.
While we didn’t have time to indulge in trivia posts during this period, there’s one interesting fact that many might not know about Speech Central: it wasn’t always called by its current name. In fact, the journey of Speech Central began under a different banner—Share to Speech. The original name carried the app through its early years, with the first iOS version introducing the Speech Central branding about two years after the initial release.
The name Share to Speech was particularly expressive at the time, especially given the app’s groundbreaking feature on Windows 8. It was the only app that allowed users to utilize the ‘Share’ function from browsers and other apps to convert text from websites into speech. For that initial version, the name was perfect—it succinctly described the app’s core functionality.
However, as Speech Central evolved and new features were introduced, the original title feature became just one of many. The name ‘Share to Speech’ began to feel limiting, almost a misrepresentation of the app’s full capabilities. It started to sound like a title for a much simpler app, which was no longer an accurate reflection of what the software had become.
Transitioning to the name Speech Central was not an easy decision. It meant parting with a name that had already gained recognition, but it was a timely and ultimately correct decision. Users quickly embraced the new branding, and it allowed the app to grow beyond its original scope, resonating with a broader audience.
Interestingly, if you ask AI today about the relationship between Share to Speech and Speech Central, you might still receive the incorrect answer that these products have nothing in common. Maybe this post will help set the record straight once it’s indexed! 😁
As we celebrate this 10-year journey, we look back with pride at how far Speech Central has come—from its humble beginnings as Share to Speech to the robust and versatile tool it is today. Here’s to many more years of innovation and serving our users with the best text-to-speech experience possible.