How Can I Have My Texts Read Out Loud?

Reading messages isn’t always possible, but you can hear them read instead

Edward C. Baig,

AARP

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Published November 25, 2025

AARP members and readers are invited to submit pressing technology questions they’d like me to tackle in my Tech Guru column, including issues around devices, security, social media and how all the puzzle pieces fit together.

One rising trend is that increasing numbers of Americans are relying on short audio recordings, or voice notes, rather than traditional texting to communicate, according to the online language learning site Preply. But voice also plays a key role when it comes to traditional texts. This week, I’m addressing a question about hearing what is on the screen rather than reading it.

Every time I hear my phone ding, I wonder who is texting me and why. But it’s not always convenient or possible to read those messages, especially if I’m driving or exercising. How can I hear my texts read aloud instead and, in some cases, respond by voice?

I get it. Incoming text messages can be untimely intrusions, and you already mentioned a couple of scenarios where that’s especially true, notably when you’re at the wheel. We’ve all been schooled on the dangers of distracted driving.

Or perhaps you’re on your morning run and don’t want to pause your workout to answer.

I’ll also mention the accessibility challenges that some people have — folks who are blind or don’t see well may not be able to read texts under any circumstances.

Still, you’re curious about the nature of these incoming texts, which may or may not turn out to be important. And that’s when you want to at least hear what was just sent.

If you’re taking advantage of Apple’s CarPlay or Google’s Android Auto, a voice can pipe in through the vehicle’s speakers when you’re driving, enabling you to hear incoming messages read aloud as they come in. You can reply in kind by voice.

Meanwhile, if you’re exercising, there’s a good chance you’re wearing wireless Bluetooth headphones that let you not only listen to your texts but to respond by voice, in between your huffs and puffs. 

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Here are some ways you can listen to texts on iPhone and Android.

Hear messages read aloud on iPhone

Ask Siri. Perhaps the simplest way to hear messages read aloud on an iPhone is to ask Siri to read them for you.

Utter “Hey Siri (or just “Siri”), read my messages” or, if catching up later, “Siri, read my last messages.” Apple’s voice assistant will comply.

Depending on where you are and what you’re doing, you may hear Siri through your phone’s speaker, via compatible Bluetooth buds or headphones, or car speakers. Siri will ask if you want to reply to the message it just read; if the answer is yes, you can dictate your response.

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You can determine whether Siri should announce notifications that come in, including texts from the Messages app as well as messages from other apps.

Go to Settings | Apple Intelligence & Siri (or just Siri on certain models) | Announce Notifications and enable the Announce Notifications switch. According to Apple, Siri will avoid interrupting you and will listen for your response after reading notifications. Within the settings, you can choose whether Siri can announce notifications that are either direct messages or “time sensitive.” You also get to determine whether Siri will read such announcements in CarPlay and/or when wearing headphones.

Separately, you can have Siri announce incoming calls.

Speak Selection. iPhone can read texts on the screen through a Spoken Content accessibility feature. Tap Settings | Accessibility | Read & Speak | Speak Selection. Now, when you select text in the Messages app, a Speak option will appear in a menu. Tap Speak to hear a voice read the word or words you’ve selected.

You have several options when this feature is enabled. Tap Highlighting to have the iPhone highlight the words or complete sentences as they’re spoken, including how those highlights appear (background color, underline).

Within Settings, you can also change the voice reading the message as well as the language, the speaking rate, even the way certain phrases are to be spoken.

VoiceOver. If you are blind or have severe vision problems, you can have everything on the screen read aloud. It comes through a VoiceOver feature that works with all the built-in apps on iPhone, including Messages.

Tap or have a friend tap Settings | Accessibility | VoiceOver to enable the feature, or ask Siri to turn it on or off.

When enabled, audible descriptions can assist a blind person in navigating the screen by providing information based on where they touch or drag their fingers. VoiceOver relies on simple gestures; tap once, for example, to select an item on the screen, and double-tap to activate the item. Users can also scroll by swiping with three fingers, or by swiping one finger from left to right to move to the next page.

You can again choose the voice you’re listening to, as well as the capability to alter the speaking rate or pitch. There’s a braille option as well.

Hear messages read aloud on Android

Android phones are all a bit different, though basic features across the various handsets are similar.

Ask Gemini or Google Assistant. As with iPhone, you can ask the built-in assistant to read your texts out loud on Google Gemini AI and/or Google Assistant, depending on your device. You might simply say, “Gemini, read my messages.” After doing so, Gemini will ask whether you want to reply.

Select to Speak. The Select to Speak feature on the Google Pixel allows you to tap items on the screen to hear them read aloud or described, similar to Speak Selection on iPhone.

Open Settings by tapping the icon that resembles a gear, followed by Accessibility | Select to Speak | Select to Speak shortcut.

Tap the shortcut button to launch Select to Speak, or swipe up with two fingers or three fingers, depending on your device and how you have set things up.

Once enabled, you can drag your fingers across the screen to read back and/or describe multiple items. After tapping the shortcut button, you can also display play controls. Tap the right-pointing arrow or Play to play what you tapped or what is highlighted on the screen. You can tap to pause or skip the audio as well.

Options within the Select to Speak settings area also allow you to change the reading voice, language, speech rate and pitch. If you select the experimental Read in background setting, Select to Speak continues reading even after you’ve moved on to other screens and apps.

TalkBack. You can also have items read back to you when you have difficulty seeing the screen. Think of this TalkBack screen reader on Pixel as the loose equivalent of VoiceOver on iPhone, though the gestures differ.

On a Pixel, tap Settings | Accessibility | TalkBack | Use TalkBack | Allow. Or tap a TalkBack shortcut switch.

You can swipe right or left to move between items on the screen, double-tap to activate an item or drag two fingers to scroll.

Bonus tip: Voice Control on iPhone may demand your attention

As its name suggests, the Voice Control accessibility feature on iPhone lets you control your handset with just your voice, whether that’s navigating or issuing system commands, dictating and editing text or asking for more details about what’s on the screen. It can even determine whether you’re focused on the device or not paying attention at all.

Tap Attention Aware under Voice Control in settings, and Voice Control will only wake up when you’re looking at the iPhone, and will stop listening and go to sleep when you look away. It may help preserve the battery and won’t inadvertently kick in when you’re doing something else.

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Edward C. Baig covers technology and other consumer topics. He previously worked for USA Today, BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report and Fortune, and is author of Macs for Dummies and coauthor of iPhone for Dummies and iPad for Dummies. Follow him on LinkedIn; Threads; and X, formerly known as Twitter.