Version v0.9.9

Text-to-speech that actually keeps up with you

The core listening experience has been tightened so that audio, text, and movement stay in sync. When the app reads aloud, the current sentence is highlighted more accurately, even when paragraphs get a bit fancy with italics or mixed formatting. You see what you hear, instead of guessing where the voice is.

As you move through a book, the reader now scrolls more reliably to keep the spoken text in view. No more listening to a paragraph while the screen stubbornly shows the previous one. And when you switch chapters, the playback starts from the correct place in the new chapter instead of clinging to the old one.

The text-to-speech controls also behave more like a reading companion and less like a disappearing act. When you jump to the next sentence, the toolbar stays visible and updates instantly, so you can keep tapping, pausing, or adjusting without waiting for the UI to catch up.

Voices that stay, match your language, and do not vanish

Voice selection has grown up a bit. When you pick a voice you like, the app now checks if that voice is actually available and falls back to a safe default only when needed. No more mysterious resets back to a random option after you carefully chose something else.

The voice list itself is filtered to the reading language, starting with English. That means fewer confusing options and a nicer chance that the voice you pick fits the content you are reading. The goal is simple: choosing how your books sound should feel intentional, not like scrolling through a system dump.

Mobile listening that works, with clearer limits

One of the biggest practical changes in this release is simple: text-to-speech on phones now actually works. If you tried it before and it refused to start, that behavior should now be comfortably in the past.

On desktop, you get the full experience with tighter highlighting and smoother syncing between text and voice. On mobile, the app is more honest about what it can and cannot do: settings that do not make sense on small screens have been quietly removed, and labels make it clearer that the most precise highlight tracking lives on desktop.

Whenever you adjust reading settings, playback now stops automatically so you are not surprised by a voice resuming mid-tap while you are still tweaking pitch or speed. Speaking of which, those controls stay inside their layout instead of overflowing like they own the place.

A smoother reading flow with smarter page hints

Reading with or without audio now comes with a little bit of guidance. As you approach the end of a page, the reader can nudge you with subtle feedback so you are less likely to be surprised by a page turn. It is not loud or flashy, just enough to help you keep the rhythm of reading and listening.

Behind the scenes, scrolling has been tuned so you do not get unnecessary jumps back to the top when you are already there. Combined with more predictable auto scroll behavior, this keeps long reading sessions calmer on both desktop and mobile.

Navigation, releases, and feedback polish

Outside the reader itself, the shell of Simpleread received a few small but pleasant tweaks. The main navbar buttons now follow the newer visual style, which makes the app feel more consistent as you move between pages.

On phones, the navigation favors what you are likely to care about right now. The Releases section is easier to reach, and on tablets the beta releases layout is better centered, so the whole header looks less like a prototype and more like a finished space.

The feedback button has also been brought in line with the home buttons and behaves in a more forgiving way. You can send multiple messages in short order without the interface getting stuck, and a short timeout keeps things under control so your feedback does not feel like shouting into the void.

Simpleread v0.9.9 is one of those quiet upgrades that you mostly notice when going back is no longer acceptable. Text-to-speech is steadier, scrolling and highlighting are more in sync, and the navigation plus feedback tools got a discreet refresh. It is a small step on paper, but a big one for anyone who likes to let their books read themselves to them.