Amazon is finally bridging its Kindle and Audible ecosystems with a new feature that lets readers seamlessly switch between reading text and listening to audio versions of the same book. The company announced Read & Listen today, requiring customers to purchase both formats - but at a discounted bundle price - while syncing their progress across devices in real-time.
Amazon just made a play to lock readers deeper into its ecosystem. The retail giant's new Read & Listen feature finally solves a problem that's frustrated customers for years - the inability to smoothly transition between reading a Kindle ebook and listening to its Audible counterpart without losing your place.
The feature works exactly how you'd expect it should have years ago. Start reading a book on your Kindle during your morning commute, switch to the audiobook version when you get in the car, then pick up reading again on your iPad at lunch - all without manually hunting for where you left off. Amazon's syncing technology tracks your position across both formats in real-time, according to Sarah Perez's report in TechCrunch.
But there's a catch that's already raising eyebrows. You'll need to buy both versions of any title you want to sync, though Amazon is softening the blow with bundle discounts. The company hasn't disclosed exact pricing yet, but the move signals Amazon's recognition that readers increasingly expect multi-format flexibility - something competitors like Apple Books and Google Play Books have offered for years.
The timing isn't coincidental. Amazon's been facing mounting pressure as audiobook consumption exploded during the pandemic and never retreated. Industry data shows audiobook revenue in the U.S. hit $2.1 billion in 2025, up 18% year-over-year, while ebook sales remained relatively flat. Readers increasingly want both formats, and until now, Amazon's siloed approach meant buying each separately at full price with no meaningful integration.
Apple Books has allowed users to switch between reading and listening since 2020, with progress syncing automatically for titles that offer both formats. Play Books rolled out similar functionality in 2021. Amazon's delay in matching these features has been particularly glaring given that it owns both the dominant ebook platform (Kindle) and the leading audiobook service (Audible).
