Chrome's 'Listen to this page' feature now supports background playback on Android

Google has updated its 'Listen to this page' feature in Chrome for Android, which converts text to speech. The update adds support for background playback, allowing audio to continue playing even when the browser is closed or another app is opened. Initially, playback would pause if the browser was closed.

The media player in notifications displays the article name and website, with controls for 10-second rewind and skip buttons alongside a scrubber timeline.

Background playback aligns 'Listen to this page' feature closely with Google's Read Aloud app. The Chrome version provides options to adjust playback speed (in 0.5x to 4x increments), choose from 10 different voice options, as well as the ability to highlight text and auto-scroll.

The controls can be accessed through a mini player at the bottom of the browser. Users can also set a shortcut for the play button in the toolbar via Settings > Toolbar Shortcut.