Google Chrome is enhancing its accessibility features on Android with the introduction of the ‘Listen to this page’ functionality. Announced as part of the recent Chrome 130 update, this feature allows users to have web pages read aloud in 10 distinct voices, improving the browsing experience for many.
Originally revealed during last month's Android feature drop, the ‘Listen to this page’ function had limited capabilities when it first surfaced in June, as audio playback would stop whenever users closed the Chrome app or turned off their device's screen. However, new updates reported by 9to5Google have significantly upgraded this feature.
Now, users can enjoy uninterrupted audio playback even when they switch to different applications. A convenient reader menu appears at the bottom of the screen while an article is active, offering options to play or pause audio, navigate through the text, or skip forward and backward by 10 seconds. Additionally, users can adjust playback speed from 0.5x to 4x, tailoring the experience to their preferences.
For ease of access, Chrome also enables users to create a dedicated play button for web pages. By long-pressing the new tab icon, they can select "Edit shortcut" and rename it to "Listen to this page."
With these enhancements, Google Chrome continues to assert its status as one of the most popular browsers on Android, providing robust competition to Safari's similar listening feature. This development underscores Google’s ongoing efforts to improve accessibility, ensuring that web content is available to a wider audience.
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