mdn / mdn/browser-compat-data

api.SpeechSynthesisUtterance.boundary_event - supported in desktop Chrome since ???

Open
#28,419 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

browser:chrome data:api p3
Dominant language
JSON
Stars
5.8k
Forks
2.6k
Avg merge
1d 21h
Merged PRs (30d)
186

Description

What type of issue is this?

Incorrect support data (example: BrowserX says "86" but support was added in "40")

What information was incorrect, unhelpful, or incomplete?

SpeechSynthesisUtterance's boundary event is listed as follows:

"chrome": {
  "version_added": "33",
  "partial_implementation": true,
  "notes": "The `boundary` event does not fire as expected. See [bug 40715888](https://crbug.com/40715888)."
},
"chrome_android": "mirror",

However, it seems to be fully supported in latest desktop Chrome. The linked bug only mentions Android Chrome, so possibly desktop has had full support since v33? Android Chrome support is still lacking, meanwhile.

I think the correct data should be something like "chrome": { "version_added": "33" }, "chrome_android": { "version_added": false }, but not sure how to go about testing ancient versions of Chrome.

What browsers does this problem apply to, if applicable?

Chromium (Chrome, Edge 79+, Opera, Samsung Internet)

What did you expect to see?

"chrome": { "version_added": ??? }, "chrome_android": { "version_added": false }

Did you test this? If so, how?

Repro here: https://codepen.io/lionel-rowe/pen/zxrgrZL

$play.addEventListener('click', () => {
  speechSynthesis.cancel()
  CSS.highlights.delete('speaking')

  const utterance = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance(text)
  utterance.addEventListener('boundary', (e) => {
    const node = $output.childNodes[0]
    const range = new Range()
    range.setStart(node, e.charIndex)
    range.setEnd(node, e.charIndex + e.charLength)

    CSS.highlights.set('speaking', new Highlight(range))
  })
  utterance.addEventListener('end', () => {
    CSS.highlights.delete('speaking')
  })

  speechSynthesis.speak(utterance)
})

Runs fine on current desktop Chrome; on android, the boundary events fail to fire (no highlighting).

Can you link to any release notes, bugs, pull requests, or MDN pages related to this?

No response

Do you have anything more you want to share?

No response

MDN URL

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/SpeechSynthesisUtterance/boundary_event

MDN metadata
MDN page report details
  • Query: api.SpeechSynthesisUtterance.boundary_event
  • Report started: 2025-11-09T07:30:23.699Z

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the MDN SpeechSynthesisUtterance boundary_event page and the linked CodePen reproduction, comparing current desktop and Android Chrome behavior. Verify the supported versions and platform distinction against available browser evidence, then update the corresponding browser-compatibility data so the entry accurately reflects desktop and Android support.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript
Domain
documentation, web-dev
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.