LetMeTalk, a free AAC app with ARASAAC symbols, has not been updated since 2018. If the person still uses it, there is no rush to change everything tomorrow, but plan what comes next calmly.
Where does LetMeTalk stand?
Developed by AppNotize, a donation-funded German company, LetMeTalk has been a great help: free, offline, with ARASAAC symbols that line up in a sentence strip read aloud by the device. As of October 2026:
- the last version for iPhone and iPad dates from August 2018;
- the app is still listed on the UK App Store, but no longer maintained;
- the Android version has been removed from Google Play.
What are the risks of staying on LetMeTalk?
An abandoned app can stop working without warning, and the person then loses their voice overnight.
- An iOS or iPadOS update can make the app unstable or impossible to open.
- A new device: on a new tablet, the app may no longer be installable.
- Data: with no backup or export, customised pages disappear with the device.
- Voices: they are the system’s voices, which change over time.
If LetMeTalk still works well, nothing forces you to change immediately: take screenshots of every page, don’t update the iPad without a plan B, and prepare the alternative away from busy periods such as the start of the school year.
Buddy and LetMeTalk side by side
We develop Buddy, so we are not neutral. Prices checked on the UK App Store in October 2026; the other apps are in our AAC app comparison.
| Criterion | Buddy (Pictalk) | LetMeTalk |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Pay what you want, no locked features | Free |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, Android watch | iPhone, iPad |
| Access | Touch, switch | Touch |
| Languages | 11 | 17 |
| Symbols | ARASAAC, Mulberry, Tawasol, Sclera, ParlerPictos, OpenMoji, Makaton, personal photos | ARASAAC |
| Vocabularies included | Essential 24, Springboard 48, Horizon 80, Quick Core, Vocal Flair, CommuniKate, Sequoia | None (ARASAAC image library) |
| Vocabularies designed for phones | Yes | Not verified |
| Grammar | Yes | No |
| Offline | Yes | Yes |
| Format | Open (OBZ) | Proprietary |
| Beyond AAC | Visual schedule, guided sequences, notebooks, smartwatch | No |
| Publisher | French non-profit association | Donation-funded company |
Notes
- Buddy: on Windows and Mac, Buddy runs in the browser; the Android watch app works with Wear OS.
- LetMeTalk: not updated since 2018, though still listed on the UK App Store; the Android version has been removed from Google Play.
- Access: Buddy offers simple switch scanning.
- Buddy’s vocabularies: 17 in English, including Essential 24 in portrait and landscape.
- Phone: LetMeTalk works on iPhone, but we could not verify that its layout is designed for a small screen.
Why Buddy is a natural next step
- The same symbols: Buddy uses ARASAAC, like LetMeTalk; the person finds familiar images.
- More than a voice: Buddy is an independence companion that links AAC boards, the visual schedule, guided sequences, notebooks and the smartwatch to the same symbols, on synced devices.
- Progress tracking: its smart context learns about family and friends, places and routines to better understand what is said; its communication report can be shared with the speech and language therapist.
Another change: LetMeTalk reads out exactly the symbols lined up (‘me want drink’), which matches the short messages without little words that are common in AAC (Beukelman and Light, 2020). Buddy conjugates automatically: ‘he want cake’ becomes ‘he wants cake’. This does not replace partners: what really helps progress is modelling full sentences and recasting, completing what the person says (Binger and Light, 2007, cited in Beukelman and Light, 2020).
If the person needs eye gaze, a joystick or head control, look at Grid or TD Snap instead.
Moving from LetMeTalk to Buddy in seven steps
Take stockOne screenshot per page, while LetMeTalk still works
RebuildEssential 24 or Springboard 48, plus the personal words
Side by sideKeep LetMeTalk for a few weeks
ModelOn Buddy, without demanding a response
- Take stock while LetMeTalk still works: one screenshot per page, and the list of personal words (names, places, foods, games, favourite expressions).
- Choose a starting point: Essential 24 if the person used a few simple pages, Springboard 48 if they were building sentences of several words.
- Find the symbols again: with ARASAAC, most images are the same; add your own photos.
- Add the personal words in the ‘[…]’ cells set aside for them, without moving the other words.
- Keep LetMeTalk alongside for a few weeks, so the person is never left without a voice.
- Model on Buddy during favourite activities, without demanding a response: the words have moved. See Model, wait, respond.
- Print a paper version of the essential pages, in the same positions, for when the battery is flat.
Detailed version: ‘Changing apps without losing progress’ in our comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import my LetMeTalk pages into Buddy?
Not directly, as far as we know. Rebuild them from your screenshots: with the same symbols, it is quicker than it looks.
Does Buddy work on an old iPad?
Buddy also works on older devices and system versions. Install it on the person’s iPad to check, keeping LetMeTalk during the transition.
Pictalk Buddy brings together AAC boards, a visual schedule, guided sequences and notebooks, with the same symbols, on Android, iOS, the web and the watch. A pay-what-you-want app, developed by a non-profit association. Discover Buddy
Sources
- Beukelman, D. R. and Light, J. C., 2020, Augmentative & Alternative Communication, 5th ed., Paul H. Brookes.
- Binger and Light, 2007, cited in Beukelman and Light (2020).
- Google Play, accessed in September and October 2026, and the UK App Store, accessed in October 2026.