How To Make Your iOS Device Speak Selectable Text

Whether you’re new to iOS, or just want to pick up some useful tips and tricks, we’re here to help. This is iOS Advice.

Wouldn’t it be great if your iOS device could read to you? Speak Selection is a feature within iOS that will allow you to select any text and have a Siri-like voice read it back to you.

If you’d like to learn how to use Speak Selection, watch the video or follow the steps below:

Step 1: Launch the Settings app on your device, then tap on “General.”

Step 2: Scroll down to “Accessibility” and tap on it.

Step 3: Under the “Vision” category, tap on the row labeled “Speak Selection.” Next, toggle the switch to “ON.”

Once you’ve enabled Speak Selection, you can also set the speaking rate, dialect, and have your device highlight words as it speaks them.

Step 4: After you’re done configuring Speak Selection, open an app, document, or Web page with selectable text. Tap and hold on any text to select it, then tap on “Speak.” Your device will now begin speaking the selected text. If you’d like to stop it, tap on “Pause” from the pop up menu.

Now that you’ve learned how to use Speak Selection, if there’s something else you’d like to see on iOS Advice, please let us know. Send us an emailwith your question or comment and we might feature your suggestion in a future article. If you need a little more advice, check out our other helpful tutorials.