Android developers, how to implement text-to-speech? Discover easy integration tips!

As an android developer, you know how important it is to make your app as user-friendly and accessible as possible. One way to do this is by implementing text-to-speech (TTS) technology in your app. TTS allows users with visual impairments or reading difficulties to listen to the content of your app instead of having to read it themselves.

Table of Contents

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the steps for implementing TTS in your android application, there are a few prerequisites that you should be aware of. These include:

Prerequisites

A compatible device: TTS is supported on most modern Android devices running API level 19 or higher. You can check which devices support TTS by visiting the Android documentation website.
Internet connectivity: TTS requires an internet connection to download and install the necessary resources. Make sure that your app is designed to work offline or with limited connectivity.
API keys: To use TTS in your app, you will need to obtain API keys from the Google Cloud Platform. These keys are used to authenticate your app with the TTS engine and access the necessary resources. You can obtain API keys by following the instructions in the Android documentation.
Permissions: To use TTS in your app, you will need to request the appropriate permissions from the user. These permissions include ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE and INTERNET, which are required for internet connectivity, as well as TEXT_TO_SPEECH, which is required for TTS. You can request these permissions by adding them to your app’s manifest file.

Step 1: Set up the necessary permissions

To use TTS in your app, you will need to request the appropriate permissions from the user. These permissions include ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE and INTERNET, which are required for internet connectivity, as well as TEXT_TO_SPEECH, which is required for TTS.

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.TEXT_TO_SPEECH" />

Once you have added these permissions, save the file and build your app.

Step 2: Create a TTS engine instance

To use TTS in your app, you will need to create an instance of the Text-to-Speech engine. This can be done using the following code:

<TextToSpeech tts new TextToSpeech(context, new TextToSpeech.OnInitListener() {>
    <Override>
        public void onInit(int status) {
            if (status == TextToSpeech.SUCCESS) {



                // TTS is available and ready to use
            } else {
                // TTS initialization failed
            }
        }
    </TextToSpeech.OnInitListener>
}</TextToSpeech>

In this code, `context` refers to the context of your app, which can be obtained using the following code:

<Context context getApplicationContext();>

Once you have created a TTS engine instance, you can use it to speak text by calling the `speak()` method and passing in the text that you want to speak. For example:

<String text "Hello, world!";>
tts.speak(text, TextToSpeech.Language.DEFAULT, null);</String>

This code will speak the text “Hello, world!” using the default language of the device.

Step 3: Set up voice selection

By default, the TTS engine will use the device’s default voice for speaking text. However, you may want to give your users the ability to choose their own voice. To do this, you can add a `Spinner` widget to your app that allows the user to select their preferred language and voice.

ArrayAdapter<String> languages new ArrayAdapter(context, android.R.layout.simple_spinner_dropdown_item,
        getResources().getStringArray(android.R.array.languages));
languages.setDropDownViewResource(android.R.layout.simple_spinner_dropdown_item);
Spinner languageSpinner findViewById(R.id.language_spinner);
languageSpinner.setAdapter(languages);

In this code, `getResources().getStringArray(android.R.array.languages)` returns an array of strings containing the names of the available languages on the device. You can then use the selected language to set the appropriate voice for speaking text.

<String language getSelectedLanguage(languageSpinner);>
tts.setLanguage(language, new TextToSpeech.OnInitListener() {>
    <Override>
        public void onInit(int status) {
            if (status == TextToSpeech.SUCCESS) {
                // TTS is available and ready to use
            } else {
                // TTS initialization failed
            }
        }
    </TextToSpeech.OnInitListener>
}</String>

Step 3: Set up voice selection

This code will set the language for the Text-to-Speech engine.

Step 4: Save user preferences

When using TTS in your app, you may want to save the user’s preferred language and voice so that they can use them in future sessions of the app. To do this, you can store the user’s preferences in shared preferences using the following code:

<SharedPreferences.Editor editor getSharedPreferences(PREFS_NAME, MODE_PRIVATE).edit();>
editor.putString("language", language);
editor.commit();</SharedPreferences.Editor>

To retrieve the user’s saved preferences, you can use the following code:

<SharedPreferences prefs getSharedPreferences(PREFS_NAME, MODE_PRIVATE);>
String language prefs.getString("language", "en-US");</SharedPreferences>

This code will retrieve the user’s saved language preference.

Summary

Using TTS in your app can help make it more accessible and user-friendly for people with disabilities or those who prefer to hear content rather than read it. By following the steps outlined above, you can create a robust and efficient TTS system that meets the needs of your users.