Google’s “Listen to this page” TTS feature is rolling out on Chrome for Android, according to its support page.
Google has been working on the new feature for months. It reads aloud a webpage from Chrome on Android. Playback controls let you pause, scrub forward, skip forward or back 10 seconds, or change the reading speed.
The mini-player stays docked while browsing other tabs, but closing Chrome will cause it to stop. When you relaunch, it will remember where you were.
There are several different voices to choose from. US voices include Ruby, a mid-pitch, warm tone that’s pleasant on the ear, and Moss, a low-pitch, peaceful tone ideal for bedtime listening.
You can also change the languages. It currently supports English, Spanish, German, French, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Russian, Bengali, and Portuguese. The feature can also highlight text and auto-scroll as it reads.
It’s currently possible to ask Google Assistant to read webpages aloud and translate them into other languages, but this works through the Google app, while the new TTS feature keeps things browser-based.
How to Listen to a Page in Google
To see if your phone has the option, open a text-heavy web page in Chrome, tap the three dots at the top right, then look for “Listen to this page” under Translate in the menu. Since the new feature has just started rolling out, you may not have access to it yet, though it’s currently available on version 125 of Chrome.
Did you know that Chrome for Android has introduced a "Listen to this page" feature alongside the Translate one? The voices are good and it's free. This is the #AI transformation happening right before our eyes. pic.twitter.com/oodQhu6xGr
— Claudio Fantinuoli (@DrFantinuoli) June 17, 2024
Apple users can enjoy a similar feature, “Listen to Page” which reads webpages aloud in Siri’s voice, with playback controls not dissimilar to the new Google feature.