Speech, without the sound.
Independent reporting on silent-speech technology: the glasses, wearables, sensors and brain interfaces that turn unspoken words into text. Every product is labeled by what you can actually buy today.
"Move the meeting to three."
No sound reaches a microphone. Silent-speech systems read the movement instead.
Lead story
All newsSilent speech isn't necessarily private: what Subvocal's cloud processing means
The YC-backed startup's glasses let you dictate without making a sound, but the founder says decoding happens in the cloud and the product needs internet. Its published privacy policy does not yet cover speech data.
Subvocal at a glance
- Stage
- Preorder
- Price
- $499 early bird
- Deposit
- $199, refundable
- Subscription
- About $20/mo planned for unlimited (founder)
- Regions
- US only, no Europe date
- Ships
- Est. Q1 2027
- Sensing
- Radio (RF), no cameras
- Processing
- Cloud, needs internet
- Languages
- English only
- Privacy notice
- Not yet published
- Evidence
- Company claims only
- Checked
- Nov 9, 2026
What stage is it really at?
Most silent-speech headlines describe lab results or reservations, not products in stores. We use four stages so you never confuse the two.
Published or presented by a lab. Nothing to buy or reserve.
A working demo exists, usually from a company. No public way to pay for one.
You can pay a deposit or full price now. The product has not shipped yet.
Finished units are being delivered to paying customers.
Our tracker currently lists 14 entries. None of them are a finished silent-speech product you can buy today.
Start here
All explainersWhat is silent speech? How it works, and what you can actually buy
A plain guide to the technology that turns unspoken words into text: the sensing methods, who it helps, how to read accuracy claims, and what is really on sale.
Latest
Apple bought a silent-speech startup. Here is what it has and hasn't said
Ten months after buying Israel's Q.ai, Apple has announced no silent-speech feature. We separate the confirmed deal and the public patent from the rumors about AirPods.