Your web browser’s built-in reading mode cleans the web so you can read articles without any annoying ads or pop-ups that pop up if you read the newspaper in a normal way . Although many popular browsers have had this feature for a long time, Google Chrome only recently upgraded the mode. But Google is actively working to bring additional features to reading mode, and the option to read all by voice is being prepared for the Chrome browser.
As the name suggests, Google Chrome’s reading feature will be to read the entire article, like you’re listening to an audiobook, with text-to-speech (TTS) capabilities. Again, some popular browsers and apps like Pocket already have this feature, but Google Chrome is only rolling it out through the Canary channel.
When you open an article in Chrome Canary’s reading mode on your desktop, you’ll see a new option, as discovered by browser expert Leopeva64. You can use this little play button to let the browser read the entire article for you. In the user-shared sample video, you can hear the sound of the voice being read — and it’s not too audible.
Voice volume is as mechanical as it was in the early days of the TTS transition, which is all the more ironic coming from Google as it has some of the most natural-sounding speech models on hand. This clearly shows that read-all is in the early stages of development and will take some time before it is ready for full use.
In its current state, Chrome’s full read engine looks pretty basic. Other browsers allow you to change the reading speed, skip to the next part of the article, and even change the voice. For example, Microsoft Edge has a long list of more natural accents in English and other regional languages. However, these options are not currently available in Chrome Canary, which prevents Google from releasing a fully featured read version with a stable version later.
Considering Google’s excellent ability to deliver natural TTS voices in multiple languages, the built-in full read feature will certainly be more capable and useful for users. However, while Google still has many other features to complete, you can use a Chrome browser extension to add full readability.