Those who have my Feature Matching Chart for the Top 13+ Robust iOS Symbol-Based AAC Apps will notice that I have a row specifically about “App Reliability” that includes the following information:
- How frequently does this app have bugs?
- How severe are the bugs?
- How well does the App Developer communicate to let users know about known problems and what they are doing to resolve them?
- How quickly are the issues resolved?
No app or software is immune from bugs regardless the size of the company or how long they have been around. The important part is how the app developer handles these issues, transparent communication, and how severely users are impacted.
I have previously announced that I will be removing CoughDrop from my AAC feature matching resources due to increasing glitchiness over the years since Forbes AAC acquired the app in early 2023.
Unfortunately Forbes AAC has not been trustworthy or reliable and have made several promises to fix the app but then failed to deliver what was promised.
A recent update for the iOS version made things WORSE (not better). The second recent update for the iOS version improved a few things but not everything. I emailed the new CoughDrop Product Manager a screen recording video of ongoing issues related to the Premium Voices and iOS System Voices and differences between what’s available when using the app on my iPad vs. my iPhone.
I haven’t been able to install a Premium Voice in this app on my new Android tablet since part of the menu is cut off on the screen.
Forbes / CoughDrop has done a poor job of responding to user questions in their CoughDrop Users Group on Facebook. Hopefully this will improve with the new CoughDrop Product Manager joining the group. They need to provide ongoing engagement and support in this group to rebuild trust.
Bobbi Adams-Brown did a public Facebook post that does a great job of describing the impact of all of this on users: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1772988606941188&id=100026901977184. I’m sharing in this in my blog post with her permission. Be sure to read the comments on her Facebook post.
I truly hope the most recent promise by Forbes AAC will be fulfilled and CoughDrop can become a reliable AAC app again.
It will take a at least a year of Forbes maintaining and improving CoughDrop to earn trust as an app developer. For the sake of their users I hope this happens.
It’s an honor to have my OMazing Kids AAC Consulting blog and resource links page selected as the knAAC Awards “AAC Community Site of the Year” again in 2025: https://www.openaac.org/knaac-awards/2025/
Looking for in-depth AAC feature matching resources? See this blog post: https://bit.ly/5aacFeatureMatchingResources. That post also includes videos comparing the best AAC apps on various devices on various platforms.
Looking for more AAC resources? Check out the Resource Links page here on my blog: https://omazingkidsllc.com/omazing-kids-aac-resource-links
Have a question? The best way to reach me is via Facebook messaging over on my OMazing Kids page: https://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsAAC/
Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP, Founder of OMazing Kids, LLC, OMazing Kids AAC Consulting
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