Missing Outlook ‘Play My Emails’? You’re Not Alone — Try This Instead

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With Microsoft retiring the Play My Emails feature in Outlook Mobile in June 2024, many users have been left frustrated — we’ve seen a surge in people searching for a replacement and sharing their disappointment online. For those who relied on the feature during their commute or as part of their daily routine, it was a genuinely useful tool.

Speaking Email to the resuce

Both Play My Emails and Speaking Email were built around the idea of playing your inbox aloud and letting you interact with it using voice – including archiving, flagging, and replying. But Speaking Email has always gone further, and now that Microsoft's option is gone, it’s a good time to look at what sets us apart.

What does Speaking Email offer that Microsoft didn’t?

Even when Play My Emails was available, Speaking Email had more to offer:

• Voice-controlled forwarding and composing to your contacts

• Smart editing of replies via voice (e.g., “replace word” command)

• Automatic cleanup of email clutter like signatures and disclaimers

• Multilingual detection that switches reading voices automatically (Microsoft only supported US English)

• Choice of voice – select your preferred reading voice

• Configurable trigger points for hands-free command activation

  
  

But the biggest difference? The experience.

Speaking Email is designed to be clean, fast, and focused – with minimal clutter and maximum usability. Whether you’re visually impaired or driving, we aim to provide the smoothest listening and command experience possible.

What about enterprise email?

Speaking Email supports secure enterprise email access too, including Microsoft 365. 

What does this mean for email-to-speech?

With Microsoft stepping back from the email-to-speech space, there's a clear opportunity for more specialized tools like Speaking Email to shine. We’ve always focused on two core use cases that big players tend to overlook:

• Visually impaired users, who need a voice-driven interface with minimal clutter and full control

• Drivers and commuters, who want to hear and interact with their inbox safely and hands-free

  
  

Now more than ever, we’re seeing increased interest from users who want a reliable, polished, and feature-rich alternative to what Outlook offered. Speaking Email is here to fill that gap – and then some.

We rely on our enthusiastic user base to help spread the word – and we’re confident that once people try Speaking Email, they’ll see why it’s the best way to listen to their inbox.

Thanks for your support!

P.S. Want to see what Play My Emails was like? Check out GeekWire’s review by Todd Bishop

What is Speaking Email?

An app for iPhone and Android that reads your email out loud to you. It intelligently extracts content from emails (minus the signatures, disclaimers and threads). And it lets you action your email - archive, mark-as-read, trash, flag, reply, or forward. It can be completely by voice command, or use the large on-screen buttons or full screen touch gestures.

Who is it for?

People with blindness or visual impairment. People who are busy and run out of time to get through their inbox. People who want to make productive use of time when driving between appointments.

Do you have Apple CarPlay?

See our other product Speaking Email CarPlay.