Show HN: I built an AI conversation partner to practice speaking languages
by omarisbuilding on 1/30/2026, 10:16:19 PM
Hi,<p>I built TalkBits because most language apps focus on vocabulary or exercises, but not actual conversation. The hard part of learning a language is speaking naturally under pressure.<p>TalkBits lets you have real-time spoken conversations with an AI that acts like a native speaker. You can choose different scenarios (travel, daily life, work, etc.), speak naturally, and the AI responds with natural speech back.<p>The goal is to make it feel like talking to a real person rather than doing lessons.<p>Techwise, it uses realtime speech input, transcription, LLM responses, and tts streaming to keep latency low so the conversation feels fluid.<p>I’m specially interested in feedback about: – Does it feel natural? – Where does the conversation break immersion? – What would make you use this regularly?<p>Happy to answer technical questions too.<p>Thanks
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/talkbits-speak-naturally/id6756824177
Comments
by: vunderba
Since I don’t own an iPhone, I can only give you feedback on the landing page itself:<p>- The font in your “Stop studying. Start speaking.” screenshots is both hard on the eyes and strangely blurry.<p>- Your ad copy needs an overhaul - it feels clipped and rushed.<p><i>> I built TalkBits because most language apps focus on vocabulary or exercises, but not actual conversation</i><p>There are <i>MANY</i> language apps which focus on actual conversation. You are in a SUPER competitive space. You need to call-out what makes your app different. In just the last few months alone (just on HN) I've seen many Foreign Language Chat Apps:<p>SpeakLanguageOnline – Voice-only AI language tutor<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46779716">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46779716</a><p>Malan Chat - Full immersion language learning app for 62 languages<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46768430">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46768430</a><p>EnglishCall - AI that calls you and practices spoken English with you<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46714857">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46714857</a><p>TongueFu - Gamified voice-first app for communication<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46553017">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46553017</a><p>Orratio - Practice spoken English by discussing news articles<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46510414">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46510414</a>
1/30/2026, 11:50:00 PM
by: redrix
Cool app. It takes a lot of courage to share here, so well done. I’d definitely highlight a bit more prominently what languages it supports though. The interface is very “Claude” so I’d be keen to hear about:<p>- How did you go about developing this?<p>- Was the entire thing vibe coded or just part of it? No shade either way, just curious.<p>- How long did it take?<p>- What were some of the harder hurdles to overcome?<p>- Given the use of AI, what’s your approach to security of your users data? How did you review any generated code?
1/30/2026, 10:54:37 PM
by: mbroncano
I just tried in Portuguese, and it introduces itself as ChatGPT. I was going to ask what can this do that ChatGPT can’t, but no need to answer now I guess.
1/30/2026, 11:16:34 PM
by: apparent
Crazy that when I search for this in the App Store on my phone, it first shows me results for Talbots, and then when I click "show results for Talkbits" it shows me a bunch of other apps. I scrolled through a bunch but then gave up and copied/pasted the URL. Ridiculous!
1/30/2026, 11:44:57 PM
by: rahimnathwani
I'm curious how the experience is different from using live voice mode in ChatGPT or Gemini?
1/30/2026, 10:54:07 PM
by: apparent
I'm surprised that an app like this can be rated are 4+, since any open web browser has to be adult-only. I would think that an app like this, unless it has very secure guardrails.<p>How does Apple deal with rating apps that tie into LLMs?
1/30/2026, 11:46:59 PM
by: tarr
Congratulations on shipping!<p>I’ve been working on a similar idea for similar reasons, but only for personal use.<p>Initially, I thought that if I had a better platform to chat with (better than say, Duolingo) then this would unlock a big growth area for me where I could get more realistic conversational experience. But, as I’ve been building and experimenting, I realize that during conversations I still fall back mostly on the expressions that I’m comfortable with. So, I’ve been experimenting with different modes that will push me to use more advanced forms of grammar and focus in different areas, and so on. Also, I allow myself to select a level of proficiency and dialect (e.g., B1 Mexican Spanish) so that I can get corrections and suggestions that are more specific to my goals.<p>I’m curious to know if, as a user of your application, you feel like it’s pushing you into awkward situations that will force you to grow your skills?
1/30/2026, 11:46:04 PM
by: code443
The speaking practice angle is interesting - have you found that users actually stick with it, or does engagement drop off like most language apps? I've noticed the hard part isn't building the AI conversation, it's creating enough novelty/progression to keep people coming back when they could just chat with native speakers online for free.
1/30/2026, 11:53:46 PM
by: amadeuswoo
Looks pretty good, the speech pipeline feels noticeably faster than the general-purpose apps I've used for lang conversations. Dead air kills immersion after all
1/30/2026, 11:26:31 PM
by: midtake
Duolingo does this, but only for a few languages and it needs some improvement.
1/30/2026, 11:03:18 PM
by: bossyTeacher
I would be a potential customer at some point in the near future. So I would like to know:<p>- what languages can it handle perfectly from A1 to C2?<p>- Pricing<p>- Any daily caps? I am guessing I can't talk for 24 hours, can I?<p>- How long can a conversation be until a new one with a new context starts?
1/30/2026, 11:37:22 PM
by: mrconter11
What's different between this and all other 10s of different ones doing the same?
1/30/2026, 10:45:48 PM