Spotify is working on a new feature that could change how we read and listen to books. It is called page match. The feature lets your audiobook and physical book stay in sync. You can pick up where you left off, no matter the format.
How Spotify’s page match works
The feature scans the page you are reading using your device camera. It uses OCR, or optical character recognition, to identify passages. Then it matches those passages with exact timestamps in the audiobook. You can also go the other way. If you are listening to an audiobook, Spotify can tell you which page to open in the book.
You need to buy or unlock the audiobook on Spotify to use page match. Once matched, your progress is saved. You can stop and resume later without losing your place. Spotify notes that OCR is not perfect. If a page is not recognised, it may ask you to scan a nearby page instead.
How does it compare to Amazon
One issue could be page variations in different editions of a book. If the page numbers do not match the audiobook, the feature might not work correctly. Spotify has not officially launched the feature, so this may be fixed during testing.
Amazon has offered something similar with ebooks and audiobooks for years. Its Whispersync for Voice feature keeps reading progress aligned across devices. But it does not work with paper books. Spotify seems to be taking it a step further by including physical books.
This could make reading and listening more seamless. You could read at home, then switch to audio while on the go, without losing your place in the story.
