Google Assistantisn’t Google’s favorite project anymore. At least it seems like it, with the company removing features left and right from it this past year. In the case of the handy ‘Read aloud’ functionality that allows you to hear an article on the web rather than read it, a recent update made it severely less useful. It no longer works in the background, and skipping to specific parts of the text is a lot more cumbersome. While the feature doesn’t look to be fixed anytime soon, there might be an alternative from Google itself for those annoyed by the tweaks to Read aloud.
Google’s own Reading Mode app could offer a remedy for those plagued by the Read aloud tweaks, as spotted by Android Police founderArtem Russakovskii on X (formerly Twitter). The app was first launched about a year ago, in November 2022, and is available for Android 9 and higher. It’s primarily an accessibility service, with Google saying it’s designed “for and with people with low vision, blindness and dyslexia.” It’s certainly useful for anyone who liked Assistant’s old Read aloud feature, though.
The app can be integrated into the quick settings tiles at the top of your notifications, but Artem discovered an even better way to quickly pull it up when needed. When you first set up the app, you can select a shortcut for it in your system’s accessibility settings. Rather than using the defaultTap accessibility buttonorHold volume keysoptions, you can tap theMore optionslink during setup. In the following menu, it’s possible to change from using a floating button to a two-finger swipe gesture from the bottom of the screen to bring up Reading Mode.
Once that’s set up, you can visit any website you’d like to read an article on and swipe up from the bottom with two fingers to pull up Reading Mode with its bigger and more legible fonts, along with access to an audio player. When a text is being read, the current position is colored to show you exactly where you’re at. You can also tap a section of the text to quickly and precisely jump to that spot. It additionally supports background playback. While it’s not possible to pull up the menu using your voice like with Assistant, it’s almost the perfect drop-in replacement for those who liked Google Assistant’s old Read aloud mode better than the new one.
Google’s latest Read Aloud update hamstrings its best feature
An update killed the ability to listen to playback while using other apps
Google Assistant’s new Read aloud feature is likely still a work in progress. Android expertAssembleDebug took to Xto share some screenshots of some capabilities returning to Read aloud, like the option to sync text to be able to follow along visually again. They also spotted an option to change the reading voice on the fly, though there isn’t any word on background playback just yet. It’s not clear if and when Google will release these capabilities, so in the meantime, the Reading Mode app is your best alternative.
