From the Speak List user guide · updated 2026-10-20.
Tap a list on the home screen to open it.
Tap an item’s circle to check it off or uncheck it.
Add items (inside a list) offers the same three ways: Speak, Type / Paste, and Details. The welcome screen's Quick add opens Type / Paste.
Use the list ⋯ menu for bulk actions (select all, uncheck all, delete completed), sort, read aloud, change list type, and more.
Edit list / editing mode lets you rename, reorder, delete, or change the list’s type.
List types
You can set a type when creating a list or change it later:
Shopping
Medications & Supplements
Health Log
Exercise & Fitness
Tasks & Routines
Kids & School
General (default)
Types help organize and choose templates; they do not move data off the phone.
Finding and organizing many lists
Search (magnifier on the home screen) finds lists and items.
Sort and filter by type live on the home action row.
Select & More (the button at the bottom of the home screen) lets you copy, share, or delete several lists at once.
Rename or delete one list from that list’s card ⋯ menu.
Pin a list to the top: touch and hold the list’s card (or use its ⋯ menu in Select mode) and choose Pin to top. Pinned lists stay above the others under every sort and show a small pin mark; choose Unpin the same way to let the list sort normally again.
Return to the welcome/start screen anytime: tap the app name on the home screen, or Settings → About → Welcome screen.
Widgets (Home Screen and Lock Screen)
Speak List has three widgets:
Speak a list — one tap opens voice capture. Small Home Screen widget, plus a microphone button for the Lock Screen (iOS 16+).
Reminders — medium Home Screen widget showing your next reminders; tap it to open the app's Reminders page.
Pinned list — medium or large Home Screen widget showing the most recently pinned list, like a note on the fridge. It shows only unchecked items: up to 4 in medium or 9 in large. Tap it to open that list. Pin one first: touch and hold a list → Pin to top (also available in the list's menu).
To add on the Home Screen: touch and hold an empty spot until the apps wiggle, tap the + (or Edit) in the top corner, search for Speak List, pick a widget, tap Add Widget, then Done.
To add on the Lock Screen (iOS 16 or newer): touch and hold the Lock Screen, tap Customize, tap the widget row under the time, and add the Speak List microphone. That row holds only a few widgets (small ones take one slot, wide ones take two) — remove one first if the row is full.
Widgets read a small summary the app saves on your phone — no account or server. The app requests an update when your lists change; iOS controls when widgets refresh, so a widget is not a live countdown or proof an alert was delivered. The circles in the Pinned list widget are not check-off buttons; open the list to check items off. Widgets do not require the Siri switch.
For quick capture of several items, Speak a list opens Speak directly (unlock the phone and grant microphone/speech permission if asked). For spoken commands instead of tapping a widget, see Siri and App Shortcuts (§12).
Inside a list
Pencil on a row edits that item (name, quantity, notes, etc.).
Bell on a row sets a calendar-style reminder (see §7).
Share sends the list as plain text.
Search within the list (magnifier).
Long lists: jump controls to move top/bottom.
Sort (⋯ menu): Smart (default), Name A → Z / Z → A, or Date added.
Where finished items sit: keep them in place, or gather them (show at bottom), and you can hide completed so the open work stays clear.
Edit as text turns the whole list into editable plain text, then saves it back. It warns before removing or renaming items would lose saved notes, dates or reminders. Choose Keep editing to return to the draft, or Save anyway to accept the loss. Use Details to rename without losing details.
Reordering items
The default view is Use mode — tap circles to check off; tap a row to expand its details.
Tap Edit list (bottom of the list) to rename, reorder, delete, or change type. Close Edit when finished.
In Edit mode, open an item's ⋯ menu → Move up, Move down, or Move to top.
Reordering works when item sort is Smart (the default). If sort is by name or date, the app asks you to switch to Smart first.
Close in-list search before moving items.
Under VoiceOver, the same moves are available from the row ⋯ menu (custom actions).
Checking something off
Tap the item’s circle to mark it done or not done.
When you check off an item that had a reminder, its alerts are cancelled while it is checked. The saved reminder time is retained.
When you uncheck it, a reminder that still belongs on the item can be scheduled again.
List ⋯ also offers select all, uncheck all, and delete completed.
Home: Select & More
On the home screen, Select & More (bottom bar) lets you pick several lists, then read them out, copy, share, or delete together. A short tip teaches the first time. You can also Read a list out from a picker (including reading more than one after you select them). The mode stays open after an action so you can do several things with the same picks (copy, then share); leave with Close Select. The Copy/Share/Delete buttons are dimmed until something is picked. The top row reads Lists: with Print and Read out beside it — Print sends every picked list to paper, one page per list. With nothing picked, Print and Read out show a tip: "Pick lists first — tap the circles."
Where new items go
Each list remembers whether new items are added at the top or the bottom (you choose this when adding to an existing list; brand-new lists start with their type's normal setting). Items stay in the order you entered them. Creating is immediate unless you pasted a multi-line batch or the batch repeats an item name. When you paste a multi-line batch, its review page has a Reverse order control to flip the batch before saving — useful when the pasted text was bottom-up. If the new list's name already exists, Speak List separately asks whether to add to that list or make another.
Smart Bump (shopping-style lists)
Smart Bump (always on for shopping-style lists; explained in Settings → About) moves a shopping item you re-add toward the top so what you just thought of is easy to see. Tasks and Kids & School lists keep your order; health-style logs stay in time order.
Deleted something by mistake?
See §9b Getting back something you deleted (item and list Undo vs backup vs starter recreate — one full story there).