There are several reasons why people benefit from having text read aloud. Some people simply enjoy listening to information rather than reading it themselves.
Others might need to do other things while learning, so listening to text allows them to multitask.
And for those who are visually impaired, text-to-speech technology is essential for understanding written content.
Even writers who have put together their text often have a mechanism or a browser extension that reads the text back to them as it helps to highlight any grammatical mistakes or redundant wording.
In any of these cases, reducing screen time has many health benefits, and Apple’s Safari browser has offered the ability for iPhone users to have text off webpages read to them.
Let’s dive into how to make Safari read a webpage out loud to you.
How to Enable Siri to Read Webpages in Safari on Your iPhone
Thanks to iOS 17, Siri can now read webpages to you in Safari, just like an audiobook. Follow these steps to enable this feature.
1. Navigate to the Settings app, scroll down, and select the Accessibility section.
2. Choose Spoken Content.
3. Toggle on Speak Selection and Speak Screen.
This feature only works with Apple’s Safari browser. Siri cannot read webpages from other browsers.
The webpage must support Safari’s Reader View. To see if a webpage supports Reader View, look for “Reader Available” or tap the “aA” icon and check if you can click the “Show Reader” option.
If it’s grayed out, the webpage isn’t compatible with Reader View.
How to Make Siri Read Articles For You
Once you’ve enabled the feature in settings to listen to a webpage, activate Siri, and then say something like, “Read this” or “I want to listen to this page.”
You can also have Siri read the webpage by tapping the “aA” icon in the Safari address bar. Then, choose “Listen to Page” from the pop-up menu. Siri will start reading the page out loud right away.
Unlike Siri, where the media control is visible at the top, with this method, you need to tap the aA icon again to see the media control panel on the screen.
Bottom Line
For many iPhone users, having text read to them is a game-changing feature.
Reading a text allows for deeper comprehension. However, listening to text can be a practical option when you’re on the move, juggling tasks, or specifically looking for errors that might be easy to gloss over while reading.
Apple isn’t alone in this endeavor, either. Many technology companies have begun more seriously focusing on accessibility features to help their users.
Leave a comment below if you have any questions.
