Audible launches 'Read & Listen' to sync e-books and audiobooks

Amazon-owned Audible has launched “Read & Listen,” a feature that introduces “immersion reading”—the technical term for syncing e-book text with audiobook narration—directly into the Audible app. The company announced the feature on Wednesday. The tool allows users to switch between formats across devices and read the text in real time as the audio plays. When active in the “Read & Listen” mode, the text of the book is highlighted in real time in sync with the narration. To use the feature, customers must own both the e-book and the audiobook versions of a title.

While the Kindle app already allowed readers to move between formats if they owned both, this launch brings the synchronized text-and-audio experience to the Audible app for the first time. To help users find compatible books, the Audible app will automatically identify which Kindle e-books in a user’s library have matching audiobooks. While customers must own both versions, discounted audiobooks will be made available to customers who already own the matching e-book.

Previously, some customers read and listened to books simultaneously by using Alexa, Amazon’s AI assistant used for narration, to read their Kindle e-books aloud. By offering a way to add on the professional audiobook for a lower price when a customer has already bought the e-book, Amazon hopes to boost book sales across formats.

At launch, the feature supports hundreds of thousands of titles, including books in English, German, Spanish, Italian, and French. Audible is offering the feature initially in the U.S., with plans to expand support to the U.K., Australia, and Germany over the next few months.

Amazon confirmed that the new feature will not impact publishers’ royalty payments. According to Audible, the combination of reading and listening can improve focus and comprehension. The company also reported that customers who both read and listen consume nearly twice as much content per month as those who only listen to audiobooks. Andy Tsao, chief product officer at Audible, stated: “Audiobooks count as reading. But now at Audible, you can read with your eyes too. Read & Listen gives book lovers the best of both worlds. Whether you’re learning a new language, studying for school, or lost in a story’s world, you no longer have to choose one format over the other.”

Why it matters

Amazon is attempting to boost book sales across formats by incentivizing users to purchase both e-books and audiobooks. By leveraging research that suggests multi-modal consumption increases user engagement, the company aims to drive higher overall content consumption.