The updates are part of Google's ongoing efforts to enhance accessibility on its devices and platforms. Other initiatives include apps like Lookout, which helps blind and low-vision users identify objects and read documents, and Sound Notifications, which alerts people with hearing loss to household sounds. Google typically shares accessibility updates during its major annual events.
Key takeaways:
- Google has unveiled a series of Android accessibility updates powered by AI, including improvements to Guided Frame and Magnifier on Pixel phones, a new Live Transcribe mode for foldable phones, and expanded language support for Live Caption and Live Transcribe.
- Guided Frame on Pixel, designed to assist blind or low-vision users, now has improved object recognition, smarter face filtering in group photos, and better focus on subjects in complex scenes.
- Magnifier, an app that zooms in on text and objects, will now allow users to search for specific words in their surroundings with the help of AI.
- Live Transcribe, which provides real-time transcriptions of spoken words and sounds, now has a dual-screen mode tailored for foldable phones, and Live Caption and Live Transcribe have expanded to support seven new languages.