Report: Spotify is Working on ‘Page Match’ Feature for Audiobooks

Spotify is reportedly working on a new “Page Match” feature that will allow users to seamlessly transition from reading a physical book to listening to the audiobook version. According to Android Authority, which spotted traces of the new feature in the app’s code, Page Match will work by scanning a page of a book to take users right to that same part in the Spotify audiobook.

The report states that Spotify will use optical character recognition (OCR) technology to scan text from physical books. “Use your camera to match your progress from the book page to the audiobook – and back again,” a text snippet in the app’s code reads.

Another code string also suggests that Page Match will also work in reverse: The feature should also be able to indicate the page number for a specific audiobook section, allowing users to easily pick up where they left off in their listening session.

Spotify currently offers over 500,000 titles on its audiobooks catalog for Premium subscribers, who get 15 hours of audiobook listening time every month. Free users and Premium Student subscribers (who aren’t eligible for audiobook listening) can also purchase audiobooks a la carte, but only on the Spotify web player.

The report doesn’t reveal when Page Match will roll out to the public, but it’s a feature that could really help to make the Audiobooks perk in Spotify Premium more enticing to people who also like reading physical books. In case you didn’t know, Amazon also offers a similar ‘Whispersync’ feature for Kindle ebooks and Audible audiobooks.