Google has introduced a novel feature for its Chrome browser on Android, named "Listen to this page."
This feature leverages text-to-speech (TTS) technology to read aloud text-heavy web pages. Once a page is fully loaded, users can find the "Listen to this page" option in the three-dot overflow menu of Chrome for Android, positioned between "Translate" and "Add to Home screen" in the fourth menu section.
The TTS functionality includes playback controls akin to those in music or podcast applications, allowing users to pause, change reading speed, and skip forward or backward by 10-second increments.
A handy mini-player will appear at the bottom of the screen, featuring controls for playback and speed adjustment ranging from 0.8x to 4x. Additionally, the mini-player offers settings for options like Highlight Text & Auto Scroll and various voice selections.
A significant benefit is that users can switch between tabs while still listening to the content, and even continue listening with the screen locked. The mini-player remains visible when navigating different tabs but will cease playback if Chrome is closed. However, upon reopening the browser, playback will automatically resume from the last active point.
Moreover, this feature isn't restricted to English speakers. It supports multiple languages such as French, German, Arabic, Hindi, and Spanish, with each language offering different voice options.
For instance, in English (US) the TTS feature includes voice options like Ruby (mid-pitch, warm), River (mid-pitch, calm), Field (low-pitch, bright), and Moss (low-pitch, peaceful). In English (UK), users can select from Cloud (mid-pitch, soothing) and Dale (low-pitch, calm) voice options, while English (India) offers the Lake (mid-pitch, calm) voice choice.
This new capability is available in version 125 of the Android Chrome app, as reported by 9to5Google.
