You can now listen to chapters
2 min read
Some days you don't want to stare at a screen, but you still want to know what happens next. So now the reader can read chapters out loud for you.
How it works
Open a chapter, tap Listen in the toolbar, then Play. The paragraph being read is highlighted and the page scrolls along with it, so you can switch between reading and listening whenever you like.
When a chapter ends, the next one starts by itself. If you'd rather it stopped, or don't want the page to scroll, both can be turned off in the player's ⋯ menu.
The voices
On phones and tablets there are two natural-sounding voices, Heart and Michael. Pick one before you press play, or switch any time from the ⋯ menu.
On a computer, the reader uses your browser's own voices. They sound more robotic, but they work everywhere and have no daily limit.
Screen off, phone in your pocket
With the natural voices, playback keeps going when you lock your phone or switch to another app, like a podcast would. Play and pause work from the lock screen and your headphones, and the next chapter still starts by itself.
The browser voices stop when the screen turns off, so with those the reader keeps your screen awake instead.
Other things you can do
- Change the speed from 0.5× to 3×. The natural voices keep their normal pitch when sped up.
- Set a sleep timer: 15, 30 or 45 minutes, an hour, or the end of the chapter.
- Listen offline. When you download chapters on your phone, tick Include audio and they'll play without a connection.
- The first time anyone plays a chapter it takes a few seconds to get ready. After that it starts right away.
Daily limits
Making the natural voices isn't free, so there's a daily allowance:
- 10 chapters a day without an account
- 50 chapters a day with a free account
It resets every day at midnight UTC. Replaying a chapter you've already listened to doesn't count again, but downloaded audio does. When you run out, you can carry on with the browser voice, which has no limit.
Try it on your next chapter and tell me in the comments how it works on your phone, especially if it stops when the screen locks (and which phone you have). And if a voice mangles a cultivation term badly enough to be funny, I want to hear that too.