1
Load text
Use Paste for clipboard text, Camera to scan printed text, or Files for PDF, DOCX, and DOC. You can also send text or links from other apps through the share extension.
Quick Start
Get reading in under a minute
The app is intentionally direct: load text, choose your pace, tap to start. This is the fastest path if you want to begin immediately.
2
Choose your pace
Set the WPM slider to a speed you can comfortably follow. For most people, 250-400 WPM is a good starting range.
3
Tap to read
In Flash mode, each word appears at the same visual focus point. Tap to start or pause. Swipe left or right to move through the text manually.
4
Adjust the experience
Open Settings from the gear button for theme, font, display mode, hybrid mode, language, and pause tuning for punctuation and long words.
Features
What Speed Reader actually does
The app combines rapid word recognition with flexible input options, a reading library, and optional AI assistance. This is the complete feature set.
RSVP with ORP highlighting
Flash mode shows one word at a time and marks the optimal recognition point in red. That keeps your eyes centered and reduces side-to-side movement.
- fixed visual focus point
- automatic font sizing for long words
- smart timing for punctuation and word length
Three reading modes
Not every text feels best in the same mode. You can switch between word-by-word reading, horizontal scrolling, and vertical line-by-line presentation.
- Flash for maximum focus
- Scroll for continuous flow
- Vertical Scroll for more context
Text from almost any source
The app supports plain text, files, camera scans, and shared content from other apps. If you paste a URL, Speed Reader tries to extract the main article text.
- clipboard
- PDF, DOCX, and DOC
- camera OCR
- share extension
On-device AI
When Apple Intelligence is available, you can summarize or translate text without sending your reading content to an external server.
- summaries in the source language
- translation into 15 languages
- one-tap return to the original text
Reading Library
The library keeps your reading history, including title, source, reading time, last-read date, and average speed when available.
- search
- favorites
- recent texts
- manual saving when history is off
Personal tuning
Speed Reader is not locked to one reading style. You can adjust theme, font, interface language, hybrid context sentences, and pause behavior.
- Dark, Light, and Sepia
- multiple font choices
- 9 interface languages
- hybrid mode and save history
Reading Modes
Which mode fits which text
Each mode works, but they feel different. It is usually better to match the mode to the kind of text you are reading instead of using one mode for everything.
Flash
For pure speed
Best for articles, notes, and study material when you want the highest pace and the least visual distraction.
- one word at a time
- red focus character
- best mode for WPM training
Scroll
For a more natural flow
Text moves horizontally across the screen. It works well if you like RSVP speed but still want a more traditional reading feel.
- continuous text flow
- manual scrolling available
- good for longer passages
Vertical Scroll
For added context
Line-by-line reading with word highlighting. This is often the better choice for harder material or when comprehension matters more than absolute speed.
- more visible sentence context
- better for complex material
- stable rhythm per line
Input
All the ways to load text
Speed Reader is designed to move quickly from source to reading. In many cases, one tap is enough to get external content into the reader.
Paste and URLs
Paste plain text directly from your clipboard. If the pasted content is a link, the app tries to extract the main body text so you do not have to clean up navigation or page chrome yourself.
Files
Import PDF, DOCX, and DOC files. This is useful for study notes, exported reports, articles, and general documents you want to move through faster.
Camera scanner
Use the camera to scan printed pages or text on another screen. VisionKit recognizes the text and passes it into the reader.
Share extension
Send content from Safari, Notes, Mail, and other apps directly to Speed Reader. This is usually the fastest route when you find something you want to read immediately.
Automatic text cleanup
The app filters input down to readable content with an emphasis on letters, numbers, and core punctuation. That makes the display cleaner and more predictable during fast presentation.
Controls
Gestures, buttons, and timing behavior
The interface looks minimal, but a lot of behavior sits underneath it. Knowing these controls makes the app feel much faster and more precise.
Tap and pause
Tap the screen to start or pause reading. In Flash mode, this is the main control. The UI fades back during reading so the words stay dominant.
Swipe navigation
Swipe left or right to move through words. Short swipes move in smaller steps, while stronger swipes jump further. This is useful for quick review.
WPM slider
Adjust reading speed live from 100 to 1500 WPM. When the speed changes during reading, the timing updates so the new pace takes effect immediately.
Guide lines
The guide lines give your eyes a stable frame of reference. They become especially useful at higher speeds or in landscape orientation.
Reset and revert
Reset brings you back to the start of the text. The same interaction pattern also lets you revert AI summaries or translations back to the original content.
Progress and remaining time
The app estimates reading progress and remaining time so you can judge how long a text will take at your current pace.
AI
Summarize and translate on device
AI in Speed Reader is optional. If your device supports Apple Intelligence, you can compress or translate longer texts before you start reading.
Summarize
The summarize action creates a shorter version of the current text and tries to keep the output in the same language as the source. It is especially useful for long articles and study material.
on-device
same language
revert anytime
Translate
You can translate into 15 languages, including Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, and Swedish. Then you can read the translated text in the same interface.
15 languages
local processing
one-tap restore
When the AI buttons are missing
The AI actions only appear when the feature is available on the device. That requires Apple Intelligence on supported hardware, such as iPhone 15 Pro or newer, or an iPad or Mac with an M1 chip or later, with Apple Intelligence enabled in Settings.
Library & Settings
How to manage your reading environment
Speed Reader is not only about pace. The library and settings keep your workflow consistent across sessions and text types.
Reading Library
- see all saved texts in one place
- search by title or content
- mark favorites for fast access
- reopen recent texts without importing them again
- view source, word count, reading time, and average WPM
Most important settings
- Theme: Dark, Light, or Sepia
- Font: from system and serif options to more classic typefaces
- Display mode: switch by text type
- Hybrid mode: show extra sentence context around the current word
- Save history: automatic saving on or off
- App language: 9 interface languages
Tips & Tricks
How to get more out of the app
The biggest gains usually do not come from pushing the slider as high as possible. They come from matching the right mode and rhythm to the text.
Increase speed gradually
Do not jump from 250 to 600 WPM immediately. Move up in steps of 20-40 WPM until comprehension drops, then back off slightly.
Use Flash mode for training
If your goal is to increase reading speed, spend most of your training time in Flash mode. That is where the fixed ORP focus point helps the most.
Use Vertical Scroll for difficult material
For legal, technical, or academic reading, added context is often more valuable than raw speed. Vertical Scroll is usually more stable there.
Turn on Hybrid mode when context feels thin
If isolated words feel too fragmented, Hybrid mode helps by keeping more sentence structure visible around the current position.
Paste links instead of messy web text
Pasting a URL often gives cleaner reading text than manually copying a webpage, because the app tries to isolate the main content.
Use favorites as a reading queue
Save interesting texts as favorites. That gives you a lightweight personal queue without importing the same content over and over.
Troubleshooting
Common questions and fixes
Most issues come down to input, device support, or settings. These checks usually resolve problems the fastest.
The AI buttons are missing
Check whether Apple Intelligence is available and enabled on your device. Without compatible hardware or system support, the AI actions stay hidden.
The text does not feel readable
Lower the speed, try another font, and test Vertical Scroll or Hybrid mode. Those changes often help immediately with denser or harder content.
The share extension does not show up
Open the iOS share sheet, choose edit, and make sure Speed Reader is enabled in the sharing list for that app.
A file import gives very little text
Some PDFs mostly contain images or complex layouts. In that case, try the camera scanner or use another version of the source document.
The library is not saving automatically
Check whether Save history is enabled in Settings. If it is off, you can still save texts manually with the save button.
The app feels too fast or too jumpy
Lower WPM, increase punctuation and long-word pause settings, and choose a calmer font. Speed reading works better with a stable rhythm than with peak speed alone.
Privacy
What happens to your text
Speed Reader is designed around local processing. That matters because people often import personal documents, study material, notes, and web content.
Local reading workflow
- your text is processed locally for display and navigation
- library data stays on your device
- AI summarizing and translation are designed for on-device processing
What that means in practice
- you stay in control of what you import
- sensitive texts are better protected than in server-dependent reading tools
- the app is suitable for private, school, and work documents
Contact
Get in touch
If you have questions, bug reports, or feedback about Speed Reader, use the address below.