Google Chrome reading mode finally now has PDF support

Google Chrome reading mode has been updated. Now, the experimental channel of the browser has a support for PDF files in the latest Canary build.

As spotted by the browser’s enthusiast @Leopeva64, this means that users can now read PDFs in a distraction-free environment, with the ability to adjust the font size, line spacing, and text color. 

With this, you’ll also soon be able to use the read-aloud feature on PDFs. You can simply highlight the text that you want, and then let the browser read it out loud for you. This very feature has actually been around in the browser’s competitor, Microsoft Edge, but it’s still nice that Chrome is finally catching up.

As a matter of fact, they were also working to add the Open in reading mode entry in the page’s context menu so you wouldn’t have to select any text to summon the feature. 

Take a peep at what it looks like below:

Chrome's Reading mode now supports PDF files (Canary), so now you can also use the "Read aloud" feature on PDFs:https://t.co/3SAacjisib pic.twitter.com/n8ECAPX00H

— Leopeva64 (@Leopeva64) October 22, 2023

The insider also says that Google is improving the accessibility of the Reading mode feature by adding a button to the Omnibox.

In case you missed it, Google has been making it easier to access Reading mode in general. 

Besides this, there will be at least 22 voices you can choose for the Read Aloud feature since Google introduced this addition earlier this month in an update of the Canary channel.