Google Play Store Now Adds Audiobooks; No Subscription required

Google Play Store now lists audiobooks alongside ebooks. You won’t need a subscription to enjoy the services but you will need to buy books (Audible, on the other hand, has a monthly subscription model that entitles you to one free book a month).

For the first month (until February 26, 2018), you can your first book at a 50-percent discount.

Audiobooks on Google Play will be available in 9 languages across 45 countries. You can just say “Read my Book” to Google assistant to fire Audiobook playback across different devices.

The next Google play book version (V4)also comes with Android Auto and chromecast support. While book market has been declining for the past few years, Audiobooks trend has registered a healthy growth. Many youngsters prefer to multitask while listening to Audiobooks while they are traveling, which is why the Android Auto support is a welcome addition.

Even the current Google Play Book App has ‘read aloud’ option and on compatible phones, you also have the option for “More natural reading voice”. While this remains our favorite Google Play Book feature, the narration still isn’t as natural as an audiobook.

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Also. the teardown of the Play Book v4 APK (that has already been rolled out) reveals that Audiobooks will be placed under a separate tab and users will have the option to adjust playback speed. You will also be able to cast your audiobooks to TV, speakers or other connected devices. These options will go active in next update.

Next, we will be waiting for Google to launch a kindle like e-ink display eBook reader. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking.

How to make Google Play Books Read Aloud your eBooks

Just tap on the center of any page of the book you are reading and select “Read Aloud” option from the menu in the right corner. From the same menu, you can also select “Settings” and check the box next to “More natural reading” to get a more natural narration. This will, however, require data.

Also, the option for “more natural reading” doesn’t appear on all Android phones.

Last Updated on: January 24, 2018