How to Read Text Out Loud on Different Devices

Apple’s iOS 16 and iPadOS have a feature called Spoken Content, which used to be called Speech. It can read text out loud on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. It helps if you have trouble reading small text or are trying to do more than one thing at once. If you can’t see what’s on the screen of your Mac, here’s how to get Siri to read out loud what’s on the screen. This article is about how to Read Text Out Loud on Different Devices.

Even though monitors are the most common way to get information from a Mac, not everyone has access to one. People who can’t see can’t rely on what’s on the screen as a source of information, so they need other ways to get information. Apple has a solution for this. It’s called Spoken Content and it’s buried in the Accessibility settings. With this feature, you can tell macOS Ventura to have Siri read out loud any text that appears on the screen.

If you miss how good radio used to be, here’s a cool trick: Talking text. Mac can talk. And it’s easy to make Safari on Apple Mac OSX read out loud an article. Using Android’s text-to-speech feature can be a great way to get more done. You can save time by having your phone read text to you while you do other important things.

Read Text Out Loud on Mac

  • Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen.
  • Choose “System Settings…”
  • Click on “Accessibility.”
  • Choose “Speech” from the list on the left.
  • Check the box next to “Speak selected text when key is pressed.” Pressing “Option” + “Esc” is the default way to read commands.
  • To change the keys, click the “Change Key…” button and then type in the new keys. To save your changes, click “OK.”
  • After that, all you have to do is highlight the text you want to hear and press the keys on your keyboard that correspond to that text.
  • The text will then be read out loud by your Mac. If you press the key again, your computer will also stop reading the text out loud.

Read Text Out Loud on Windows

Manually start Narrator to read text

  • To start Narrator, click the Start button and type “Narrator” into the app search toolbar.
  • When it comes up in the search results, you can click on it to start the programme.
  • You can also press the shortcut Ctrl-Win-Enter on your keyboard.
  • Ctrl-Win-Enter is the keyboard short cut for Narrator.

Automatically launch Narrator to read text

  • Click the “Start” button, and then click the gear-shaped “Settings” button.
  • Pick “Easy to Get to.”
  • Click “Narrator” in the left navigation pane.
  • Check the box next to “Start Narrator for me after I sign in.”

Get Windows to read text aloud using Narrator

  • Make sure you are in Scan Mode by pressing Caps Lock + Spacebar and making sure that Narrator says “Scan.”
  • Press the shortcut again if it says “Scan off.”
  • Once you are in Scan Mode, you can use the Up and Down arrow keys to ask Narrator to read anything in the window you have chosen.
  • You can move around the screen with the arrow keys, and Narrator will read the text you choose.
  • You can also ask Narrator to read specific words by clicking on the word you want to hear.
  • Then, press Ctrl+Left Arrow and Ctrl+Right Arrow to move through the characters one by one.
  • Press Caps Lock + F1 to see a list of Narrator commands.

Get Word to read a document aloud

  • On Windows computer Open the file you want to be read out loud in Word.
  • Click “Check.”
  • Choose “Read Aloud” from the menu. The controls for Read Aloud should be in the top right corner of the window.
  • Click the place where you want to read.
  • Click the Play button in the controls for Read Aloud.
  • Click “X” to close the Read Aloud controls when you’re done.

Read Text Out Loud on iPhone

Use Siri to Read Out Text on iPhone

If you turn this feature on, you can ask Siri to read you text without having to use your hands. To read what’s in your apps, though, you’ll need to unlock your iPhone first.

If Siri isn’t already on, go to Settings > Siri & Search and turn it on. You’ll also need to make sure that Allow Siri When Locked is turned on.

These are the voice commands you can currently use to get Siri to read content to you.

Read me my emails: Siri will tell you the content of your three most recent emails, even if you’ve already read them. She will tell you who sent the message and what it is about, but she won’t read the message itself.

Read me my latest email: Siri will tell you who sent the email, what it’s about, and what it says. You can also choose to reply.

Read me my text messages: Siri will only read text messages that you haven’t seen yet, and you’ll have the option to reply. You can also tap on text in apps or browsers to select it and then tap Speak from the menu that appears. Siri will read out loud the text you’ve chosen, and it seems like there’s no limit to how much text you can choose.

Using Accessibility to Read Out Text on iPhone

Go to Settings, then Accessibility, then Spoken Content. From here, you can turn on Speak Selection so that when you select text, the Speak button appears. If you turn on Speak Screen and swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers, the whole screen will be read out loud. You can change how fast the content is read and choose from a few different voices in English, including US, Australian, Irish, South African, and British accents.

If you want a hands-free experience that continues to work even after you close the app, load the screen you want to be read out loud and say “Hey Siri, speak screen.” You’ll see a menu on the screen that lets you change the speed of the speech, pause it, or skip ahead quickly. You can also swipe down at the top of the screen with two fingers to have Siri read that content.

Reading iPhone Content Out Loud

By doing these steps, you should have set up Apple’s built-in features to turn text into speech, which will save you time when you need it. If you don’t like how limited the iPhone’s built-in text-to-speech feature is, you can always try some free third-party apps that have more options.

Text-to-speech is helpful, but speech-to-text can also save you time. If you have to write a lot every day, you might find it helpful to use this with dictation apps so you don’t have to type so much.

Read Text Out Loud on Android Through Google Assistant

How to Read Text Out Loud

Enable Google Assistant

  • On your smartphone, open the Google app. Tap your profile picture in the top right corner and choose Settings.
  • Tap on Google Assistant.
  • Scroll down and tap on General. From the next menu, turn on the switch for Google Assistant.
  • Go back to the page where you set up Google Assistant and tap “Hey Google & Voice Match.” Then, turn on the switch for “OK Google.”

Ask Google Assistant to Read

When you turn on Google Assistant on your phone, you can tell it to read what’s on your screen. Open a web page on your phone to try it out. Then, use “Hey Google” or “OK Google” to call up Google Assistant. Say “Read it” or “Read this page” when Google Assistant comes up.

The web page will open in a custom web browser view, and Google Assistant will start reading it out loud. At the bottom, you’ll find some buttons that let you play, pause, and move forward or backward through your media. You can also change how fast the music plays.

Google Assistant also lets you choose between different voices. Tap the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner and choose Read aloud voice to get to them. Then, just scroll through the voices until you find one you like.

If the page you’re reading isn’t in your native language, Google Assistant can also read it in another language. To hear the translated version of the article, tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner and choose Translation. When you choose a language, Google Assistant will start to read the page in that language.

Google Assistant can read out loud articles from the Google app, Google Chrome, and the Google News app. Since the feature is mostly meant to read web pages, it doesn’t work well with apps that aren’t made by Apple. If you ask Google Assistant to read your WhatsApp messages or tweets from the Twitter app, you can’t move forward or backward, change voices, or turn on live translation in those apps.

Read Text Out Loud on Android Via Android’s Select to Speak Function

Enable Select to Speak on Android

  • Open your phone’s Settings app, scroll down, and tap on Accessibility.
  • Go to Installed apps and tap on Select to Speak from the next menu.
  • If you don’t see Select to Speak, you need to get the latest version of the Android Accessibility Suite from the Google Play Store.
  • Flip the switch next to “Shortcut to Select to Speak” and tap “Allow.”

Use Select to Speak on Android

Once you turn on Select to Speak, an Accessibility box will appear on your screen. Open the app or page you want Android to read out loud and tap the Accessibility icon to turn on Select to Speak. Then, tap the Play button to hear everything on your screen. You can also choose a sentence or paragraph and have your Android start to read it. You can move forward or backward and stop playback with the controls at the bottom.

People can also change the accent, pitch, and language of the voice, among other things. Tap the gear icon and choose “Text to speech settings” from the next menu. Choose a language from the list and move the sliders for Speech rate and Pitch to get the voice you want.

There are also a couple of untested features in Select to Speak. You can switch between apps while Select to Speak reads if you turn on the “Read in background” feature. When “Read text on images” is turned on, Android will also try to read text from images.

Use Third-Party Apps For Android

Drivemode

Download This app from here. It was made so that you can use it while driving. You can set up auto-replies for text messages, reply to messages by voice, and more with this app.

Ping:

Text messages can be turned into audio. It also changes messages from Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook, and email.

ReadItToMe:

Reads out loud the messages that come in and translates them into correct English. This feature can help if you get texts with spelling mistakes or that are written in shorthand.

Best Text-to-Speech Apps for iPhone

Speak

Speak is very responsive and has a simple user interface that makes it easy to figure out how to use it. You type words into the box in the middle, then press the Speak button to hear them back. You can change the pitch and speed of the voice, just like with the Text to Speak! and Speak4Me apps, by using the controls just below the “Speak” button.

You can export all of your history as a CSV file or as separate audio files. There are a lot of languages and voices to choose from. There is no way to import books or web pages, but you can always copy and paste text from a website or e-book to get around this.

Voice Aloud Reader

Voice Aloud Reader, made by Marcin Olawski, is a very capable and responsive app that saves you time by reading aloud digital text from websites, books, and whatever you put into the app yourself. It supports many languages, but only three English voices. Even though there aren’t that many English voices to choose from, the app more than makes up for it with its usefulness and unique features.

Text to Speech

This app goes above and beyond to do what it says it will do. It is easy to use and looks good. You can choose from 95 different voices and 38 different languages. You can also change the speed and pitch of the voice, giving you full control. Start typing in the app, and it will start to say the words.

FAQ

Why do people need to read out loud?

We learn more words the more we hear and see them. Reading out loud can also slow you down and help you pay more attention to new words. When someone asks you a question, it’s a good thing if you have to stop and look something up. Both the reader and the listener can learn the right way to say words.

What is the difference between text-to-speech and read aloud?

Text-to-speech (TTS) software is an app that uses technology to read aloud digital text like books, news articles, magazine articles, and websites on a computer or mobile device. An audiobook, on the other hand, is just a recording of a book being read out loud.

Michael Smith
Michael Smith
Michael Smith, a tech-savvy content editor at Bollyinside. With a knack for simplifying complex tech concepts, Michael specializes in crafting user-friendly "How-to" articles and valuable tips. His focus spans Windows, Mac, hardware, and support. Beyond work, he's an avid explorer of diverse tech fields, constantly staying ahead of the curve.

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