Chrome OS adds more natural voices for 'Select-to-speak' accessibility feature

Dyslexia affects as much as 20 percent of the population and is one of the most common learning disabilities. It’s for that reason accessibility features like the "Select-to-speak" tool in Chrome OS are vitally important. If you’re not familiar, it allows you to select a section of text and have it read out loud by the operating system. Following an update earlier in the year that added playback controls, Google is now introducing more human-sounding voices. With today’s update, the feature is available in 25 languages and various accents, with more to come.

Google worked with both people who live with dyslexia and educators to develop the new voices. The company says it should help with reading comprehension, particularly in classroom settings. You can enable Select-to-speak through your Chromebook’s settings menu. Once the feature is turned on, highlight a section of text and press either the Everything Button or the Launcher Key and S for Chrome OS to dictate your selection.