Chrome on Android gains a new "Listen to this page" feature with playback controls
Last year, Google experimented with a read-aloud feature for Chrome on desktop, but it hasn’t been publicly released yet. Now, a similar feature is making its way to Chrome users for Android.
Google is adding a new feature called "Listen to this page" to the Chrome browser for Android. This feature lets you hear a webpage read aloud, and it includes playback controls similar to those in music or podcast apps. You can pause, change the reading speed, skip forward or backward by 10 seconds, and scrub through the content.
On the left side, you can adjust the playback speed from 0.8x to 4x. Meanwhile, the bottom-right corner of the player includes a triple-dot menu where you can access additional settings like Highlight Text & Auto Scroll and Voice.
Yes, you can also tweak the voice and switch up the language. Google’s help page mentions that this feature supports a variety of languages, like English, French, German, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish, Japanese, and more.
To check if you have it, navigate to a text-heavy page, then tap the three-dot menu and look for "Listen to this page," positioned just below the Translate option.
You can also have Google Assistant read webpages aloud and translate them into other languages at the same time. However, when you choose this option, it switches you from Chrome to the Google app, whereas the new feature lets you stay within your browser.
Google appears to be rolling out this feature gradually with Chrome version 125, so it may take some time before you notice it. If you haven't received it yet, hang tight — it is on its way.
Chrome on Android now includes a feature that allows it to read webpages out loud right from within the app
Google is adding a new feature called "Listen to this page" to the Chrome browser for Android. This feature lets you hear a webpage read aloud, and it includes playback controls similar to those in music or podcast apps. You can pause, change the reading speed, skip forward or backward by 10 seconds, and scrub through the content.
After you choose the “Listen to this page” option, a player will pop up, featuring a progress bar and controls for play/pause, as well as options to skip forward and rewind. At the bottom corners of the player, there are two functions.
On the left side, you can adjust the playback speed from 0.8x to 4x. Meanwhile, the bottom-right corner of the player includes a triple-dot menu where you can access additional settings like Highlight Text & Auto Scroll and Voice.
To check if you have it, navigate to a text-heavy page, then tap the three-dot menu and look for "Listen to this page," positioned just below the Translate option.
You can also have Google Assistant read webpages aloud and translate them into other languages at the same time. However, when you choose this option, it switches you from Chrome to the Google app, whereas the new feature lets you stay within your browser.
This feature is particularly handy when you want to catch up on, let's say, the news while multitasking. Safari for iPhone also offers a similar feature called "Listen to Page," which reads webpages using Siri's voice and includes similar controls to Google's.
Google appears to be rolling out this feature gradually with Chrome version 125, so it may take some time before you notice it. If you haven't received it yet, hang tight — it is on its way.
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