Technology has changed the way I read, first a few years ago with the Kindle Touch’s Text-to-Speech function, and now with The Kindle App for the iPhone, that I do much of my reading on.
I love having dozens of books always with me in my pocket and I love the convenient way the iPhone’s VoiceOver feature allows me to have the phone read my books to me audibly. I was surprised at how the computer’s voice didn’t sound too-computery, and quickly grew accustomed to Siri’s sound-a-like cousin reading to me as I exercised, drove, or read along.
The more I used Kindle with VoiceOver on my iPhone, the more I like it. The only problem is that using this feature the way I do isn’t the most intuitive thing. I had my iPhone for close to nine months before I discovered this hidden jewel that has made my reading much more efficient and enjoyable.
Below are instructions on how to access the VoiceOver feature on the iPhone and read books from the Kindle app. (I’m using an iPhone 5, but I assume this works with the iPhone 6 and any other model.
How to Get the Kindle App to Read to You with iPhone VoiceOver
Step One: Go to your iPhone Settings and Click on General.
Step Two: Under General Settings, Click on Accessibility.
Step Three: Under Accessibility, go all the way down to Accessibility Shortcut, and set it to VoiceOver.
The Accessibility Shortcut is what happens when you triple-click the round main button on the iPhone just below the screen.
I was tricked at first, wanting to turn VoiceOver “On” at the top of the Accessibility menu just to realize it didn’t work well turning it on earlier than needed.
Step Four: Open a book in the Kindle App, triple click the round button to hear “VoiceOver On”. Then, to begin reading, select a portion of text or swipe three fingers down the screen to have it begin reading.
Happy reading!
If you’re more of a video person, here’s a how-to video:
(This post is for iPhone users. If you find a tutorial on how to have your Android phone read to you, please share it in the comments and I’ll add it to this post.)
A few links to help you load up your Kindle:
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