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[voiceover] What's New in Google Accessibility (light music) Hi everyone! It's Perrin Anto, Staff UX Design Lead here with another episode of What's New in Google Accessibility. Today we'll be discussing some exciting product updates for Android, Pixel, Chrome Browser, and YouTube, as well as some tips for Gemini. First up, we're excited to share some additions to Android, starting with a quick update for those who use hearing aids or cochlear implants with their Android devices.
Independent hearing device presets and ambient volume control are now available for each ear, allowing you to adjust these settings separately for each side. This could be helpful for people who have unequal or fluctuating hearing loss, different devices in each ear, or for situations where the volume levels of a particular space are unequal. also on Android users who are blind or have low vision, who use an external keyboard, can now access the TalkBack screen reader via a useful shortcut that turns the feature on and off by pressing "Action + Alt + T."
Note that the action key varies based on the keyboard: Windows keyboards use the "Windows" key for these actions, and Mac keyboards use the "Command" key. Those who find Android's 3-button navigation mode easier to use than standard navigation, will be happy to know that the order of the "Back," "Home," and "Recents" buttons is now customizable. The "Back" and "Recents" buttons can be swapped between the left and right positions. This may be helpful for those with mobility issues or for users switching from other phones who are used to a different button order.
This setting preference will also carry over when you set up a new device. Also, users who rely on Android's Mouse Keys feature, which lets you control your cursor with a physical keyboard rather than a mouse, can now experience custom cursor acceleration and speed. In another update for Android, Voice Access has introduced a major change to how users turn on listening for the feature. Before, users had to find and tap the silent notification to enable listening mode or manage two separate floating shortcuts to activate the overall feature and the listening state.
Now, Voice Access offers a unified Android Accessibility shortcut in settings that controls listening mode, and the shortcut automatically appears. To turn listening on or off, simply tap the floating Voice access shortcut. If you don't like the default floating shortcut, you can opt to turn listening on or off using volume keys, accessibility gesture, or the navigation bar accessibility button instead. We've also made improvements on large-screen devices. When you have multiple windows open, Voice Access will now interact only with the top most application window, preventing accidental interactions with hidden content,
and reducing the number of visual labels on your screen. Use the "Show recent apps" command to switch to a different window. Moving on to Pixel, we have some exciting updates to share for Guided Frame, the camera feature that assists users with blindness or low vision to take awesome photos. You may recall that Guided Frame leverages Gemini capabilities to provide users with a detailed and natural understanding of the scene, using real-time descriptive audio and haptic feedback, such as vibrations, to guide users to a great shot.
Now, the scene description feature for Guided Frame can be used offline. So whether you're capturing a sunset or a group portrait, Guided Frame on Pixel helps you compose more accurate shots even without an internet connection. This update is available to those with a Pixel 10 series device, including the foldable model- with the exception of Pixel 10a. In addition, as of the latest update, Guided Frame is now enhanced with Gemini to support over 40 additional languages, including Danish, Thai, and Turkish. Note that using these additional languages does require an internet connection.
Switching over to Chrome Browser, Caret Browsing on Android devices is now available, meaning users can navigate the web using only a keyboard. This may be helpful to those who prefer not to use a mouse because of blindness or low vision, mobility issues, a broken mouse. or personal preference. Once the feature is turned on, a text caret will appear on web pages; users can then move the cursor using the arrow keys on a keyboard, as if they are navigating within a text document.
Users can also activate buttons and links within the text by toggling the cursor inside of a button or link, and can even select text via the caret by holding down the "Shift" key while moving the caret over the desired text. Moving on, Voice Boost on YouTube makes dialog more clear by filtering out background noise and highlighting speech. Available now on select videos, this feature can be especially helpful if you are hard of hearing, watching YouTube in a noisy room, or learning a new language. You can use it now for select videos via your computer or TV.
Finally, we're excited to share some tips to make the most of the latest AI innovations in Gemini. We've been partnering closely with the neurodivergent community to better understand how AI can show up as a meaningful daily ally. We wanted to share a few insights from that collaborative research- strategies that can offer needed cognitive load reduction for some, and boost focus for everyone. To save time and reduce the frustration of having to over-engineer prompts, you can set permanent preferences in Gemini under "Settings", then go to "Instructions for Gemini," which the AI will apply to every chat. For example, if you find blocks of text hard to read, tell Gemini to always prioritize scannability.
With features like bulleted lists, distinct headings, and plenty of breathing room and responses. You can also leverage the new Personal Contacts feature to let Gemini provide even more relevant and personalized responses based on what it knows about you, with the option to have Gemini reference past chats and even Google apps that you choose to connect. So whether you'd like help navigating a socially challenging workplace situation or want a second set of eyes to coach you through a complex email, Gemini can offer advice tailored to you. Well, that concludes this episode of "What's New in Google Accessibility." To stay informed, sign up for our newsletter at g.co/a11y/news
or click the link in the description of this video. Thanks so much for tuning in. See you next time. [voiceover] What's New in Google Accessibility
