With Adobe Acrobat Reader Mobile, you can convert a PDF to a podcast. You upload files into a PDF Space, and the AI Assistant converts the content into speech. Choose either Highlights for a short version or Deep dive for a longer one. You set the focus and audience first, then edit the transcript afterwards so it says what you actually wanted. A 40-page document becomes something you listen to on the walk to a meeting.
A PDF Space is a folder containing more than PDFs. Scanned documents, photos, links to web pages and text all go in. You can invite other people to join a Space, and their comments, edits and file versions stay in one place rather than scattering through an email thread.
WHAT YOU GET FOR FREE
Read, annotate, fill out forms, sign, share, and comment. That all comes at no cost.
The one reading feature to know about is Liquid Mode. A normal PDF page keeps a fixed size, so you pinch and drag it around on a phone. Liquid Mode regenerates the page instead: the text, spacing and layout adjust to the width of the screen. It works on tablets and Chromebooks too.
You can also switch to Dark Mode, Low Light or Full Screen. Pages roll forward continuously or turn one at a time, and you can adjust brightness, text size and colour.
WHAT NEEDS A SUBSCRIPTION
Four things sit behind a subscription: editing the text in a PDF, exporting a PDF to another format, merging multiple PDFs, and rearranging PDF pages.
These four unlock here if you already pay for Acrobat Pro, Acrobat Standard, PDF Pack or an enterprise plan. If you buy just Export PDF, you receive the export tool and nothing more.
On iOS, you can change your plan within Adobe Acrobat Reader Mobile. You can’t on Android; you must do it elsewhere.
Android has one additional feature: Adobe Express tools, which let you edit images, apply templates and change layout within the PDF.
FILE TYPES IT OPENS
Adobe Acrobat Reader Mobile opens PDF Portfolios, password-protected PDFs, and LiveCycle rights-managed PDFs. When you share a file, the link can carry permissions and a password with it.
WHAT DOESN’T WORK ON IPAD
There is no JavaScript support. That includes scripts for calculations, MouseUp actions in fields, and scripts that run when a document opens. They work in desktop Acrobat, but not here.
Repeated form fields have a display issue. If the same field appears on two pages, checking the box on one page does not change the copy on the other. The value stores properly; only the display is affected.
Voice comments are the third gap. They don’t work on files shared for review, but when you unshare the file and save a copy, the comments reappear.
FILLING IN A FORM
Open a fillable form and type into it. Field validation, calculation and formatting run exactly as the form author designed them. You sign by swiping a finger on the screen, and the file goes back out from the same place.
