To have a PDF read aloud on iPhone, open it in Readwalk from Files, or share it to Readwalk from Mail, Safari or any app. Readwalk extracts the text and reads it in a natural, human-sounding voice, highlighting each word as it goes, and keeps reading with your phone locked.
Clear the PDF pile
PDFs are the hardest thing to read on a phone: tiny columns, endless pinching and scrolling. Listening skips all of that. A 20-page report is about an hour of audio at normal speed, or 40 minutes at 1.5×, which fits neatly into a couple of walks.
Three ways to open a PDF
- From Files: in Readwalk, tap + › Open a File and choose the PDF.
- From Mail or Messages: open the attachment, tap Share, choose Readwalk.
- From the web: open the PDF in Safari, tap Share, choose Readwalk.
Good for
- Students: course readings and papers on the way to class.
- Work: reports, proposals and long documents you need to get through before a meeting.
- Everyday paperwork: contracts, manuals and letters you'd rather hear than squint at.
What Readwalk reads
Readwalk reads PDFs that contain text, plus plain text, Markdown, RTF and HTML files. Photos of pages (PNG, JPEG, HEIC) work through text recognition. Word documents and EPUB aren't supported yet. Export them to PDF first.
Frequently asked questions
Can Readwalk read a scanned PDF?
If the PDF is a picture of a page with no text layer, take photos of the pages or scan them with your camera instead. Readwalk recognizes the text and reads it.
Does it work offline?
Yes, with the Standard voices, which run on your iPhone. Studio voices need a connection.
Will it read page numbers and headers?
Readwalk cleans up the text before reading, but some PDFs have unusual layouts. You'll see the text it's reading highlighted on screen.
