Have iOS Announce the Time and Date With 'TimeSpeak'

[Anthony Bouchard]

iOS is very good at showing us the date and time. The date is included on the lock screen and also from the home screen on the Calendar application’s icon. The time is always shown on the lock screen and from the status bar. However, a new free tweak comes to the table called TimeSpeak by iOS developer Mathieu Bolard and it allows you to have your device tell you what the date and time is using Siri’s voice.

With all the options in iOS for showing you the time and date, you might be wondering what the advantage is to having the device announce the time and date to you. For starters, not everyone has perfect vision and can see that well – TimeSpeak helps these people to hear the time and date by invoking an Activator action to use the tweak. Swiping on the status bar or shaking the device are two great ways to hear the date and time spoken out to you.

In addition to aiding people hard at seeing, TimeSpeak also shares with you the seconds of your current time (the status bar and lock screen do not) and it also tells you the date and time all in one sentence without the need to check several parts of iOS to find out both. You also have the satisfaction of Siri’s voice telling it to you. TimeSpeak comes with a preferences pane in the Settings application after being installed; it is shown below:



From the preferences pane of TimeSpeak, you can customize how the tweak speaks the time. You can set it to say only a few of the items, or all of them – you can also opt to have the time spoken in 24-hour time rather than the 12-hour clock and you can pick your Activator action for how you want to invoke the tweak from these options as well. By default, everything is turned on. The things you can have the tweak say (or not say) include:

• Day name (Monday-Sunday)
• Date
• Month
• Year
• Time – hours and minutes included
• Time – seconds

For a free tweak, it’s pretty cool. The interface is clean and non-obtrusive and it can be useful for people with disabilities. The tweak will install Activator if you don't have it installed already as it is a dependency for the tweak. Be sure to give it a try and let us know what you think about it – you will find it on the BigBoss repository in Cydia today.

Name: TimeSpeak
Price: FREE
Version: 1.0
Requirements: iOS 5, Activator
Repo: BigBoss
Developer: Mathieu Bolard
Editor's Rating: / 3.5/5

Sources: Mathieu Bolard

[CONVBMW]

That is a pretty "smart" app. Installed and it works well.

[javiert30]

Works good maybe the developer can add one option so the iPhone can tell you every hour or every 30 minutes by itself what time it is. But I dont know, maybe it can have an impact with the battery charge.

[KraXik]

Maybe Ryan Petrich could add voice activations to Activator. So when the phone hears 'tell me the time' then away this tweak would go.

I don't doubt Ryan's talents for one second, the guys a genius, but perhaps voice activated activator is a step too far?

[JollyRogger]

I have SpeakEvents installed in my 4s and that speaks the time every hour / 30 / 15 mins but also has the advantage of reading my textx aloud and announcing incomming calls as well. It does not announce the date or seconds, but for me SpeakEvents is the better option.

Jolly

[takenlife]

Works good maybe the developer can add one option so the iPhone can tell you every hour or every 30 minutes by itself what time it is. But I dont know, maybe it can have an impact with the battery charge.

I was thinking the same thing yesterday, it could replace my watch. Or can it be possible with a beep every hour? or every so hour ? like a watch. That would make me replace my watch instantly!

I have SpeakEvents installed in my 4s and that speaks the time every hour / 30 / 15 mins but also has the advantage of reading my textx aloud and announcing incomming calls as well. It does not announce the date or seconds, but for me SpeakEvents is the better option.

Jolly

Nice thanks for the tip!

[Shigoroku]

"iOS is very good at showing us the date and time. The date is included on the lock screen and also from the home screen on the Calendar application’s icon. The time is always shown on the lock screen and from the status bar."

If you use a Bluetooth headset, you can't see the time during a call.

See:


Where's the time? (I only blacked-out my name)

[lizzy954]

I have SpeakEvents installed in my 4s and that speaks the time every hour / 30 / 15 mins but also has the advantage of reading my textx aloud and announcing incomming calls as well. It does not announce the date or seconds, but for me SpeakEvents is the better option.

Jolly

JollyRogger,
Thank you for posting this app. It is what I have wanted for quite some time,,, I have notifications set up but at times I forget what sound is for what notification when my days are hectic. What I love the most is the fact that it works with bluetooth, so if I am in a meeting, my phone does not have to be set to vibrate and it will speak all right into my bluetooth,,, this is so work the 1.99 !!

I enjoy reading blogs for the 'additional' info given by others such as yourself (smile). thanks again !! I would click on the 'thank' button but for some reason I have not been able to find it,,,

Gratefully,
Elizabeth

I have SpeakEvents installed in my 4s and that speaks the time every hour / 30 / 15 mins but also has the advantage of reading my textx aloud and announcing incomming calls as well. It does not announce the date or seconds, but for me SpeakEvents is the better option.

Jolly

JollyRogger,
Thank you for posting this app. It is what I have wanted for quite some time,,, I have notifications set up but at times I forget what sound is for what notification when my days are hectic. What I love the most is the fact that it works with bluetooth, so if I am in a meeting, my phone does not have to be set to vibrate and it will speak all right into my bluetooth,,, this is so work the 1.99 !!

I enjoy reading blogs for the 'additional' info given by others such as yourself (smile). thanks again !! I would click on the 'thank' button but for some reason I have not been able to find it,,,

Gratefully,
Elizabeth

[Shigoroku]

Maybe Ryan Petrich could add voice activations to Activator. So when the phone hears 'tell me the time' then away this tweak would go.

I don't doubt Ryan's talents for one second, the guys a genius, but perhaps voice activated activator is a step too far?

It would run the battery dead quickly if the phone is constantly listening and processing sound.

[KraXik]

It would run the battery dead quickly if the phone is constantly listening and processing sound.

People thought the same about the widgets that change weather location as you drive but it doesn't make any noticeable difference.

[ca3sar]

any way to get this to speak the time every hour? Or any app\tweak like that out there?

[Anthony Bouchard]

"iOS is very good at showing us the date and time. The date is included on the lock screen and also from the home screen on the Calendar application’s icon. The time is always shown on the lock screen and from the status bar."

If you use a Bluetooth headset, you can't see the time during a call.

See:


Where's the time? (I only blacked-out my name)

Nit-picking? – Come on now; not cool. Unlock the device and see the time.

Otherwise, I'm sure you will like this tweak if you're in Bluetooth headset calls all the time.

[Labertasche]

Finaly, I use a similar like that called "Tell me the time" for a long time already, now I can also listen to what time is it by a simple push on a headset button while on my bicycle listening to music or a podcast, when having my iPhone with me :-)

[Shigoroku]

People thought the same about the widgets that change weather location as you drive but it doesn't make any noticeable difference.

Think about it:
The location API is smart enough to switch between precise (power-hungry) GPS location and imprecise location based on the mobile phone network. When you slow down or stop, it activates the power-hungry GPS only briefly to get a more-accurate location fix. The imprecise location from the mobile phone network has no significant impact on battery life since the baseband is always active (except in airplane mode).

Making it so the microphone and CPU are constantly active will impact battery significantly- No matter what.

[KraXik]

Think about it:
The location API is smart enough to switch between precise (power-hungry) GPS location and imprecise location based on the mobile phone network. When you slow down or stop, it activates the power-hungry GPS only briefly to get a more-accurate location fix. The imprecise location from the mobile phone network has no significant impact on battery life since the baseband is always active (except in airplane mode).

Making it so the microphone and CPU are constantly active will impact battery significantly- No matter what.

Think about it:
People smart enough to code this stuff will set up correct parameters like - waiting for the phone to move to turn on mic or using the sensor to recognise someone's face is close to then turn on a mic.

All I'm saying is, past evidence would suggest not to make sweeping statements as once implemented people's coding skills are mental and can surprise.

[Shigoroku]

Think about it:
People smart enough to code this stuff will set up correct parameters like - waiting for the phone to move to turn on mic or using the sensor to recognise someone's face is close to then turn on a mic.

All I'm saying is, past evidence would suggest not to make sweeping statements as once implemented people's coding skills are mental and can surprise.

Someone simply said "voice activated." It would be cool to perform some activator actions while my phone sits on the table or in a dock.

Yeah, of course it can be done. There's a "raise and speak" option with Siri (it keeps the IR proximity LED active to sense your face). Raise-and-speak off by default (presumably because it impacts the battery?).

Unless the microphone and CPU are constantly active, I wouldn't be able to issue voice commands while my phone is sitting on the table in front of me. If they're constantly active, there will be a significant impact in battery life.

[chokem]

Just installed it, activate swiping down from the status bar, works great.

[edwardwong]

Finaly, I use a similar like that called "Tell me the time" for a long time already, now I can also listen to what time is it by a simple push on a headset button while on my bicycle listening to music or a podcast, when having my iPhone with me :-)

How do you do that? Are you using a Bluetooth or wired headset? I can't get this to work with my Bluetooth Headset (Jabra). I would love to be able to use this on my bluetooth, since my phone is often deep in my pocket and I rarely wear my watch these days.

[Shigoroku]

Finaly, I use a similar like that called "Tell me the time" for a long time already, now I can also listen to what time is it by a simple push on a headset button while on my bicycle listening to music or a podcast, when having my iPhone with me :-)

That has been built-in to iOS for a long time. Just activate voice control and say: "What time is it?" No jailbreak or tweak needed. Existed before iOS 5.