Android 13 getting improved accessibility features

At Google I/O recently, the internet and software giant unveiled Android 13 along with a lot of the new and improved features that would be coming with it this Fall. Included in the announcement was news that Google is planning to make Android 13 its most accessible mobile operating system yet. Now, Google’s keyword blog has announced details about a key feature that will make it happen.

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According to Google’s own blog, Android 13 is going to get a key feature that will make it easier for braille users to get the most out of their Android phones.

Braille offers people who are blind a chance to review and study the written word as opposed to having to listen to audio recordings and sounds. According to the Braille Works website, braille is:

“…a system of touch reading and writing for blind persons in which raised dots represent the letters of the alphabet.  It also contains equivalents for punctuation marks and provides symbols to show letter groupings.”

So, you might be wondering how a smartphone operating system is going to incorporate a system of raised dots into its user interfaces. The answer is out of the box support for braille displays, which are auxiliary devices that create braille patterns by raising small pins through holes based on the information they receive. Incredibly, these devices can even be used as keyboards too, offering people who are blind a chance to write and check their work independently.

Previously braille users have had to download the BrailleBack app to enable braille display integration with their Android phones but from Android 13 onwards, the capability will ship as part of the mobile operating system itself. The feature will come as a part of Android’s screen reader app Talkback, which also comes with many other accessibility-boosting features like specialized display buttons for navigation, writing an email, and making a phone call or sending a text message, for example. The new update will also create new shortcuts that will make using braille displays much easier too.

This fascinating update offers just one example of the solutions technology can offer to problems faced by millions of people around the world every day. For more accessibility tools that can make people’s lives easier, check out our guide to the best accessibility tools for Microsoft Office.