While the screen is locked, Office for Android will allow you to listen to documents.

• Are you tired of your phone or tablet's Read Aloud feature pausing when the screen locks?
  
• Microsoft intends to address this and will allow playback to continue.
• This new feature has already been added to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, and a date has been set for it.
• However, few people believe the April 2022 release date will be confirmed.

Users of Android Office should take a seat for this one, because some very exciting news is heading your way very soon.

When the screen is locked, Microsoft's Office suite for Android will soon support playing documents out loud.

When you can't spare your eyes for this activity, this new function will make it easier to catch up on documents or examine content by listening to it.

In April, a new Office Android functionality will be available.

We realise that many of you have been waiting a long time for such functionality, so this is a breath of fresh air in these uncertain times.

The feature's tentative release date in the Microsoft 365 roadmap is April 2022, however it is still subject to change.

It goes without saying that the date is merely a target, not a definitive release date, as is the case with any feature on the roadmap.

For the time being, the mobile versions of Office, like Youtube, pause audio playback when you lock this screen.

As you might expect, if you're attempting to listen to a document and your screen locks after you don't touch it for a long, this might be a pain.

If you want to listen to content while driving in a car or while keeping your phone in your pocket, the current configuration is also an issue.

Are you looking forward to the new functionality that will be available to Android Office users? Let us know what you think in the comments area below.