Aria

Aria is a voice-activated AI chatbot assistant for iPhone and iPad from Epione Software. Users speak to Aria instead of typing, and it answers questions, takes notes, finds videos, gives directions and holds conversations in other languages. Aria is aimed at people who want a speaking assistant for their daily routines, including those who are multitasking or who simply prefer speaking over typing.

Aria works through speech: the user says a request, and Aria listens and responds out loud. Behind the conversation, Aria is equipped with Gemini, Claude and ChatGPT, which it draws on for creative tasks and complex questions. Spoken thoughts are organised into notes, from reminders to creative ideas, and the assistant can be used by voice on any device, with the experience kept in sync between them.

Aria's capabilities include news retrieval, image generation, calendar event integrations, video suggestions and a map view. It can converse in a language the user chooses, such as Italian or Japanese, as a way to practise speaking. It finds how-to or entertainment video content on request, and gives directions and suggests places to visit. A recent update added persona appearance options for Aria, covering clothes, hair and body type.

Aria is free to download, with in-app purchases: Basic at $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, Medium at $24.99 a month or $249.99 a year, and Pro at $39.99 a month. Epione Software states that conversations and data are protected with encryption and privacy measures. The app requires iOS 15.1 or later, also runs on Macs with an Apple M1 chip or later, is available in English and is rated 13+.

Use cases

• Dictating notes, reminders and creative ideas by voice instead of typing them
• Practising spoken conversation in a new language such as Italian or Japanese
• Finding a funny video or a how-to video by asking for it
• Getting directions and finding new places to visit
• Adding calendar events and catching up on the news by voice
• Using an assistant hands-free while doing other tasks