Last updated: April 24, 2023

Playback begins automatically when you double-tap on an audiobook in your bookshelf or the “Play” button on an audiobook’s details screen. The “Audiobook Player” screen is pleasantly uncluttered and easier to use than the ebook reader. You can explore the screen or swipe through it to find all of the playback controls, most of which are properly labelled, as well as information about which chapter you are on, how far you are into said chapter, and how much time remains in the audiobook.

The “Rewind,” “Play/Pause,” and “Fast-Forward” buttons are near the bottom of the screen. “Rewind” and “Fast-Forward” are labelled “Seek 10 seconds back” and “Seek 10 seconds forward,” respectively, and double-tapping them jumps backward or forward by 10 seconds.

The “Playback Speed” button is at the top of the screen, and double-tapping it opens a screen where you select how fast you want the audiobook to play. If you hear the words “Playback Speed” before the multiplier, for example, “Playback Speed 1.25x”, that tells you what the playback speed is currently set to. Double-tapping any button will set the playback speed and return to the main player screen. Playback can be sped up or slowed down, accommodating a range of convenience and accessibility needs.

Note that duration and time remaining information is always for normal playback speed, regardless of what you set your speed to. If it says you have 4 hours left in your book at 1.0x speed, then you switch to 2.0x speed; it will still say 4 hours, not 2 hours. The time remaining will decrease twice as quickly.

The ”Sleep Timer” button is next to the “Playback Speed” button and lets you schedule the audiobook to stop playing. You can set it for up to an hour or tell it to read until the end of the chapter. If a sleep timer has been set, there will also be an option to turn it off. Double-tap the button labelled with the option you want.

Audiobooks have a table of contents, but how to get to it is not immediately obvious. You can either double-tap the “Overflow Menu” and then double-tap “Table of Contents” in the menu, which appears or double-tap the chapter title below the “Play/Pause” button. Once open, the table of contents lists each chapter along with its duration, and you can double-tap one to jump to it and start listening at the beginning of that chapter.

Demonstration. Reading audiobooks in Kobo with VoiceOver. 

Instruction Summary

1. Double-tap on an audiobook on your bookshelf or the “Play” button on its details screen.
2. If desired, double-tap “Playback Speed” and double-tap an option to speed up or slow down the narration.
3. If desired, double-tap “Sleep Timer” and double-tap an option to stop reading after that amount of time.
4. If you want to jump to a different chapter, double-tap “Overflow Menu” followed by “Table of Contents” or double-tap the title of the current chapter near the bottom of the screen. Browse the list of chapter and double-tap one to jump to it.
5. Otherwise, enjoy your audiobook. Double-tap the “Seek 10 seconds back”, “Pause,” “Play,” or “Seek 10 seconds forward” buttons if needed.

Related Tutorial Pages

1. Using the Kobo Books app for iOS with VoiceOver
2. Accessing Kobo
3. Searching for Content
4. Browsing for Content
5. Reading Ebooks
6. Browsing your Bookshelf