Spotify Launches Page Match for Book-Audio Sync

Spotify announced new features on Thursday aimed at enhancing its audiobook offerings, including a tool to sync physical books with audio versions and the ability to purchase print copies directly through its app. The updates, which build on the platform's growing library of over 500,000 titles, are designed to provide users with greater flexibility in how they consume books.

The centerpiece is Page Match, a feature that allows listeners and readers to switch seamlessly between formats. Users can open the Spotify mobile app, search for a title, and tap the Page Match button to activate their phone's camera. By scanning a page from a physical book or ebook, the app analyzes the text using computer vision and image-scanning technology to match it to the corresponding spot in the audiobook and begin playback there. The process works in reverse as well: those listening to an audiobook can scan to identify the exact page to resume reading.

Page Match is currently available to premium subscribers and will expand to all audiobook users by late February for most English-language titles, with plans for broader language support. Early tests indicate the scan-to-listen function is...