#Read the text to me software#

Over the past few years Apple’s commitment to integrating accessibility features into its software has become a highlight of its products. I’ve chosen Alex as he sounds more natural than some of the other voices. You can change the voice that is heard when text is read to find a more fitting one for your taste. Tip: Both iOS and macOS feature a Voices section under their Speech features. At least in this manner you know was it being read aloud. I’ve found that the best way to have Siri read the text back to you on macOS is to highlight the group of text you want read and then to hit the configured key command.

If you were to hit the configured keys while just looking at any screen, you may find that Siri reads back what is seemingly random text. The difference here is that on macOS, this feature works better when it’s treated more like the Speak Selection feature on iOS. Launch System Preferences and navigate to Accessibility → Speech and enable Speak selected text when the key is pressed. On macOS, the process is slightly different than iOS. You can edit a word’s specific pronunciation under Settings → General → Accessibility → Speech → Pronunciations. Tip: You may notice when text is being read that Siri will pronounce things incorrectly. Tapping the forward and backward options will jump through to the next major break in a group of text (usually paragraphs or user interface elements). If you want to speed up Siri’s reading rate tap the bunny, and to slow it down tap the turtle. That window has a few controls to assist in the speech while the content is being read. I usually enable Speak Screen whenever I’m going through emails or my reading list. A small opaque window will appear and begin reading the content aloud. To activate Speak Screen use two-fingers to swipe down over the iOS Status Bar. I use the Speak Selection feature to have her pronounce unknown words to me, and the latter to have her read large amounts of text. Enabling it allows you to visually follow along with what is being read onscreen.īoth Speech features are powerful in different ways, but the Speak Screen option is one I’ve found myself using much more often on iOS. Tip: While in this section, enable the Highlight Content option as well. Selecting the second allows you have Siri read everything that is visible on your screen. Enabling the first allows you to select a group of text and have Siri read that specific group back to you. To do so, head into your iOS Settings → General → Accessibility → Speech section.įrom here you’ll see two options: Speak Selection and Speak Screen. To get Siri to start speaking to you on iOS, we’ll have to enable an Accessibility feature. Enabling this feature also means you can even navigate between apps, and Siri will continue to read the content you initiated! Having Siri read aloud on iOS

It allows you to consume all the reading material you like, but with the added benefit of not having to have your face buried in a screen. Having Siri read your content can be quite a liberating feeling. Having the personal assistant read articles to me means I can focus on other activities while essentially turning my reading lists and emails into a personalized podcast. For the past few months I’ve been using Siri to read all the text I want to read but don’t actually need to read. While Siri may not be the perfect companion some wish it was, the personal assistant’s voice can lend itself to our lives in a variety of helpful ways.

Read the text to me