They also can be productivity boosters if you prefer listening over reading.
This article explains how to make Siri read text on your iPhone and Mac.
How to Make Siri Read Text on iPhone
Siri can read most text on the screen.
The personal voice assistant works on almost all apps while your free hands can work on other things.
To make the iPhone read text, go into the Accessibility prefs and set up the feature first.
Go toSettings>Accessibility >Spoken Content.
EnableSpeak Selectionto display aSpeakbutton on top of any selected text.
EnableSpeak Screento hear the entire screen with a two-finger swipe from the top to the bottom of the screen.
SelectSpeech Controllerand enable theShow Controllertoggle button.
The other controls on the Spoken Content screen allow you to selectVoicesand adjust theSpeaking Rate.
Enable this only if necessary.
Say something like Speak screen to make Siri read text on the screen.
Alternatively, opt for text you want Siri to read and then tapSpeak.
EnablingHighlight Contentin theSpoken Contentsettings helps you follow the words as Siri read them.
Change the highlight colors if you dont like the default blue.
Its a handy feature for reviewing documents on the phone.
How to Make Siri Read Text on macOS
Spoken content works a bit differently on macOS.
It’s again an accessibility feature that uses text to speech to read whats on the screen.
On the macOS, it’s activated by a keyboard shortcut instead of a direct Siri command.
SelectApple menu>System Preferences.
SelectAccessibility>Spoken Content.
SelectOptionsto change the keyboard shortcut if required.
Underlined or highlighted sentences mark the spoken sentences to help your eyes track them.
grab the pop-up menu forHighlight contentand chooseNeverto disable highlighted text.
Select theShow controllerpop-up menu to choose the behavior of the controller.
By default, the controller will appear with the spoken content and allow you to set the speed.
Use the buttons to play, pause, skip ahead or back, or stop the narration.
Theturtleicon on the left slows down the speaking rate while therabbitboosts it.
Use the keyboard shortcutOption+Escto make macOS read the selected text.
macOS can read anything on the screen without a selection.
On Chrome, macOS won’t be able to read text unless you select it.
Say something like, “Check my messages,” “Do I have any messages?”
or “Read my messages.”
you could also say, “Read my latest message” to hear your most recent message.
