Alphabet Enhances Google Chrome App with New Text-to-Speech Feature

Alphabet Stock

Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google is set to introduce an innovative “Listen to this page” text-to-speech feature for Chrome on Android.

The upcoming enhancement will offer users a new “Listen to this page” option, accessible through Android’s three-dot overflow menu. Activating this option will unveil a mini-player with a circular play/pause button, page title, site name, progress bar, and close button.

Furthermore, selecting the option will open a sheet UI providing additional functionalities, including a timeline scrubber, rewind/fast forward buttons, playback speed adjustment, highlight text & auto-scroll, and voice options.

This impending update is anticipated to elevate the user experience and functionality of the Chrome browser, potentially leading to increased web browsing traffic for the company.

Additionally, Alphabet is poised to attract a substantial user base among Android users with this latest feature.

Expanding Google Chrome Initiatives

In addition to this development, Alphabet recently introduced an Incognito mode in Google Chrome, enabling users to browse the web with complete privacy, erasing browsing history and tracking data upon closing the browser – a feature often interpreted as private browsing.

Earlier, Alphabet incorporated 120 features into Google Chrome, including Tab Groups for streamlined access on various desktop devices and Safety Check, which runs in the background to notify users of compromised passwords or harmful extensions.

Google also introduced a convenient shortcut to “Clear browsing data” on Android for Google Chrome, accessible from Chrome’s main overflow menu, allowing users to remove specific browsing data increments, with the default set at 15 minutes.

The company revamped the New Tab Page for Google Chrome, featuring a more prominent search bar, distinct voice microphone and Lens icons, and a smaller Google logo, akin to Gmail and Google Chat.

Google also unveiled in-browser price insights across Chrome, empowering users to anticipate future price changes, complete with a 90-day price history graph, price drop emails, and a new Shopping list folder.

To Conclude

Alphabet’s ongoing efforts to enhance its Google Chrome app are expected to contribute to the growth of Google’s Search revenues. This, in turn, is likely to fortify the Google Services segment, a key driver of growth for Alphabet. Over the past year, Alphabet’s shares have surged by 56.1%, outpacing the Computer & Technology sector’s growth of 45.1%.

The strengthened Google Services segment is anticipated to positively impact Alphabet’s overall financial performance in the foreseeable future.

The Consensus Estimate for total revenues in 2024 is $283.39 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 11.26%. The consensus estimate for 2024 earnings is $6.74 per share, having risen by 5 cents in the past 30 days.

Featured Image: Megapixl

Please See Disclaimer

About the author: Stephanie Bédard-Châteauneuf has over seven years of experience writing financial content for various websites. Over the years, Stephanie has covered various industries, with a primary focus on tech stocks, consumer stocks, market news, and personal finance. She has an MBA in finance.