How to Enable Chrome’s New Text-to-Speech Mode for Android
Google has been working for months to update the way it handles text-to-speech (TTS) in Chrome on Android. The feature was first spotted in beta in January, but it now appears to be rolling out to more users in Chrome 125. While it’s not fully ready yet, reports 9to5Google , you can already enable it if you don’t already have it. .
Previously, to have your smartphone read web pages to you , you typically had to rely on Google Assistant on Android and Siri (plus Safari) on iPhone. While the new Page Listening feature doesn’t seem to be coming to iOS anytime soon, it’s still nice to see Google bringing this accessibility feature to Chrome itself.
9to5Google reports that the new feature works on most text-heavy websites. However, you will need to wait for the page to fully load and then access the option from the three-dot menu at the top of Chrome. If you don’t see this feature listed, simply enable it using the Chrome flag chrome://flags/#read-aloud. Type the bold text into the URL bar, press Enter to access settings, and enable it.
In addition to reading web pages, the feature also includes various controls, including playback speed options, as well as the ability to highlight text and enable auto-scrolling. Google has also included several voice options, including options for English voices for the US, UK, India and Australia. There are also several different tones that provide a warmer, calmer, brighter or more peaceful tone.
The TTS control panel will remain pinned even if you open additional tabs, and playback will continue if you lock your device. However, if you close the browser or even put it in the background for any reason, the reading will stop. This feature is also available in Chrome custom tabs and can be set as a toolbar shortcut to avoid scrolling through menus to find it.
Since it hasn’t officially rolled out yet (any access you may have right now is a preview), this feature is likely still being worked on somehow. So Google may make more changes or even add new features before releasing it completely. If you’d rather wait for the full version, Google’s Reading Mode app remains a great alternative.