Text-to-Speech (TTS)

Icons of a tablet, volume, headphones, and a play button.

General Information

Text-to-Speech (TTS) converts written text into natural sounding audio, enabling hands-free access to books, websites, and apps, and supporting people who prefer listening or need auditory access.

Key Features:

  • Read aloud for webpages, documents, emails, and ebooks.

  • Voice options with adjustable rate, pitch, and volume.

  • Multiple languages and dialects, often with natural neural voices.

  • Word or sentence highlighting while reading.

  • Pronunciation dictionaries and SSML support for fine control.

  • Offline or cloud-based speech engines.

  • Export to audio files for later listening.

  • OCR to read scanned PDFs or photos of text.

Examples of Use:

  • Listen to articles, textbooks, or reports while commuting.

  • Follow along with highlighted text to support reading and study.

  • Create audio versions of handouts, assignments, or newsletters.

  • Read menus, labels, or printed mail using camera-based TTS.

Videos

Additional Links

Specifications

Apple iPhone and iPad:

  • Spoken Content.

  • Speak Screen.

  • Speak Selection.

  • VoiceOver uses speech output.

macOS:

  • Spoken Content.

  • Speech settings and “Start Speaking” in the Edit menu.

  • VoiceOver uses speech output.

Android:

  • Select to Speak.

  • Speech Services by Google provides the TTS engine.

  • TalkBack uses speech output.

ChromeOS:

  • Select-to-speak.

  • ChromeVox screen reader uses speech output.

Windows:

  • Narrator screen reader.

  • Text-to-speech voices in Settings.

  • Read Aloud in Microsoft Edge and Immersive Reader experiences.

Microsoft 365 apps:

  • Immersive Reader.

  • Read Aloud.

  • Speak.

Adobe Acrobat:

  • Read Out Loud.

Amazon Kindle and Fire:

  • VoiceView screen reader.

  • Kindle device Text-to-Speech, where supported.

Web browsers:

  • Safari on macOS and iOS uses Spoken Content features to read pages.

  • Firefox Reader View includes Narrate.

  • Edge includes Read Aloud.

  • Chrome commonly uses extensions if a built-in read-aloud is not available in your version.