Audible is testing Read & Listen, a feature that synchronizes the audiobook with the ebook text. It highlights words on the Kindle screen as the audio narration progresses. To use it, you need both versions of the title, on both Audible and Kindle. Unlike Whispersync, which allows switching between formats, this tool combines audio and reading at the same time for a simultaneous experience. The rollout is gradual in the US and aims to further integrate Amazon and Audible services. Users see the text and hear the voice in parallel.
Technical Integration Between Kindle and Audible 🔗
Read & Listen uses synchronization algorithms to align the audio with the text word by word. It requires the ebook and audiobook to be on the same Amazon account. The Kindle app for iOS and Android shows real-time progress, with dynamic highlighting that follows the narration. Audible processes audio files with precise timestamps, linked to the digital text via shared metadata. This avoids common lags in basic synchronizations. The feature activates when opening the ebook with the audiobook available, and supports pauses and manual skips. Amazon plans to expand it to more titles and devices, improving accessibility for readers with visual disabilities or multitaskers.
Audible Discovers How to Read While Listening 😏
What a novelty, Audible just invented read-aloud for dummies. Now you can pretend to read the ebook while the narrator does the heavy lifting, highlighting words like an elementary school teacher. Forget Whispersync, which was already too lazy; this is for those who want extreme multitasking, like listening and looking at the same time without effort. In the US, they're testing it gradually, as if they fear the world will collapse from actual reading. Next step: a button for the book to read itself in your head.