Looking for a very affordable option for pocket-sized AAC? Many individuals prefer to just add an app to their iPhone or Android phone but some facilities don’t allow phones (or it would be a battle to get an exception) or a phone might not be the best choice for AAC for a younger child. The iPod Touch used to be my “go to” option for this. Since the iPod Touch is no longer available I purchased an Android prepaid TracFone (keeping it unactivated)… Shout out to Karen Erickson for sharing that idea in a comment in the AAC for the SLP group.
Tracfone Samsung Galaxy A03s, 32GB, Black – Prepaid Smartphone (Locked) https://a.co/d/fAxcP4J
LeYi for Galaxy A03S Case with Screen Protector and Camera Protection Slide Cover, Military-Grade Samsung A03S Phone Case with Magnetic Ring Metal Kickstand for Men Boys (6.5 Inch), Green https://a.co/d/bLpM2Oe
$59.88 Android phone + $12.99 case + the cost of an app = very affordable pocket-sized AAC 🎉
(Updated 8/12/23: That Android phone is still available on Amazon and was even a little less expensive ($49.88). The case is still also available and was less expensive ($11.99). If you put the free Android version of Weave Chat AAC on it (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.weavechat.weavechat) you can have fairly robust pocket-sized symbol-based AAC for under $62 (+tax). The adult text-to-speech voices from Samsung & Google are pretty good. If you want Acapela voices, the Weave Chat AAC app and a few others allow use of the one you have purchased and set as a default within the Acapela app. That would be a way to add high quality child voices. Prices vary. I just purchased the child African American English voices (Tiana and Malik) for $7.99 each. The great thing is you only have to purchase the Acapela voices once and then can use them in any AAC app that supports use of them. I have previously purchased Ella & Josh (USA English) + Valeria & Emilio (USA Spanish). That app has voices available to purchase in several languages.
So for under $70 (+tax) you can have fairly robust pocket-sized symbol-based AAC with Weave Chat AAC using a high quality Acapela voice)
Updated 11/19/25: The model of phone that I have is still occasionally available on Amazon but you may want to consider a newer model. I saw the Tracfone – Samsung Galaxy A15 5G 64GB Prepaid – Black on the Best Buy website for $49.99. And the same style of case available for it on Amazon for around $10.00. Acapela child, teen, and adult voices in the Acapela TTS app are still around $7.99 each.
Weave Chat AAC is free and has continued to improve and support more languages. Another good free AAC app is TypingTalk AAC. It is a text-based app but you can add a picture, emoji or a symbol to buttons if needed (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.miyanour.speechassist). The basic features in Speech Assistant AAC are also free to use on Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.asoft.speechassistant)
So in late 2025 for under $70 (+tax) you can have robust pocket-sized AAC with Weave Chat AAC, TypingTalk AAC, and Speech Assistant AAC using a high quality Acapela voice.
See this video for a look at some of the AAC apps I have installed on it:
A short video specifically about Speech Assistant AAC on an Android phone:
And a longer in-depth video about Speech Assistant AAC on an Android phone that shows more about the app and all of the Settings:
Sound comparison test:
See more details on my updated blog post: https://omazingkidsllc.com/2021/03/22/pocket-sized-aac/
Looking for Affordable and Free AAC apps? Check out this resource: Basic Feature Chart for Affordable and Free AAC apps & AAC-Related Apps (iOS, Android Google Play, Amazon Fire, Windows + a few Web-Based options): https://bit.ly/BasicAffordableAACchart. More info: https://bit.ly/BasicAffordableAACblogpost
Looking for Robust AAC options for Android? Check out this resource: Robust Android AAC (Android Google Play & Amazon Fire): https://bit.ly/RobustAndroidAACappChart. More info: https://bit.ly/RobustAndroidAACblogpost
Several videos comparing AAC apps across platforms (iPad, Android, Amazon Fire, Windows): https://bit.ly/5aacFeatureMatchingResources
Info about much more expensive but fundable pocket-sized AAC devices can be found on this post: https://omazingkidsllc.com/2021/03/22/pocket-sized-aac/
Have a question? The best way to reach me is via Facebook messaging over on my OMazing Kids page: https://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsAAC/
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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