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. Open System Preferences and head over to Accessibility → Speech and enable Speak selected text when the key is pressed. On macOS, the process is a bit different than iOS.
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If you want to know how to get Siri to read PDF on Mac, read on Having Siri read aloud on macOS
You can edit a word’s specific pronunciation by heading over to Settings → Accessibility → Spoken content → Pronunciations.Ĭan Siri read a PDF? Yes. Tip: When text is being read, Siri may sometimes pronounce things incorrectly. Use the onscreen controls to stop reading, speed up or slow down the reading speed,(or ask Siri to stop reading) Tapping the forward and backward options will skip through to the next major break in a chunk of text (usually paragraphs or user interface elements).
That window has a few controls to assist in the speech while the content is being read. I usually enable Speak Screen feature whenever I’m browsing through emails or my reading list. You can also use this trick with the Hey Siri voice activation feature, making it one of the better accessibility features available in iOS and iPadOS. Using this trick you could have Siri read you an article, an email, a web page, anything on screen, while you commute, or are out and about, or even just laying around. This trick pairs really well with either the iPad or iPhone if you have the volume turned up enough to hear the reading out of the built-in speakers, but it also works beautifully with headphones or speakers. You can use the onscreen controls to skip slow down Siri speech, skip backwards to a section to have it re-read, pause the speech, skip forward a section you don’t want read, or speed up the Siri voice reading. All you need to do is load up the web page in Safari (or any browser of your choice) and then summon Siri and say “Speak Screen” and Siri will start reading the text of the article to you. Alternatively, summon Siri and say “Speak Screen” to have Siri read the screen and all screen contents to you.įor a practical example of how speak screen can work, let’s Say you’ve come across a great article on the internet and you’d like it read to you aloud. A small opaque window will appear and begin reading the content aloud. I use the Speak Selection feature to have her pronounce unknown words to me, and the latter to have her read huge chunk of text.įrom just about any screen in iOS or iPadOS, whether you want to get Siri read text online, settings, messages, email, you can activate speak screen on iPhone or iPad by swiping down with two-fingers from the Status Bar. When this feature is enabled, you can visually follow along with what is being read onscreen.īoth Speech features are very powerful and useful, but the Speak Screen option is one I’ve found myself using much more often on iOS and iPadOS. Tip: While in this screen, enable the Highlight Content option too. Enabling the second option allows you have Siri read everything that is displayed on your screen. Enabling the first allows you to select a group of text and have Siri read that specific group back to you. You’ll see two options: Speak Selection and Speak Screen.To get Siri to start speaking to you on iOS, launch the Settings app and go to Accessibility → Spoken Content.Enabling the speak screen 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 advantage of not having to have your face buried in a screen. Having Siri read your content can be quite a liberating feeling. To enable speak screen on iPhone, you will need to turn on a less known accessibility feature called speak screen, and then it’s just a matter of swiping down with two fingers from the top of your screen or initiating the proper request with Siri. In this article, I’ll show you how to have Siri read screen text to you on iPhone, iPad or Mac. Whether you want to know how to get Siri to read text on iPhone 11, then this guide is for you. And yes, that means Siri will quite literally read aloud whatever is displayed on the screen of an Apple device, whether it’s a web page, an article, an email, a text message, anything on the screen will be read out loud by Siri, and you’ll even have controls for speeding up and slowing down speech, as well as pausing and skipping sections. You can get Siri to read you any text on the screen of an iPhone, iPad or Mac.