Android gadgets have supplied a built-in display screen reader function referred to as TalkBack for years. It helps folks with imaginative and prescient issues to make sense of what seems on their telephone’s display screen and lets them management it with their voice. In 2024, Google added its Gemini AI into the combo to provide customers a extra detailed description of pictures.
Google is now bolstering it with a complete new layer of interactive comfort for customers. Thus far, Gemini has solely described pictures. Now, when customers are pictures, they’ll even ask follow-up questions on them and have a extra detailed dialog.
How does it assist customers with imaginative and prescient difficulties?
“The following time a good friend texts you a photograph of their new guitar, you may get an outline and ask follow-up questions concerning the make and colour, and even what else is within the picture,” says Google. This builds on the accessibility improve that built-in Gemini throughout the Talkback system late final 12 months.
The Talkback menu on Android now reveals a devoted Describe Display screen function that places Gemini within the driving seat. So, for instance, if customers are looking a garment catalogue, Gemini is not going to solely describe what seems on the display screen, however can even reply related questions.
For instance, customers can ask questions reminiscent of “Which gown could be one of the best for a chilly winter night time outing?” or “What sauce would go greatest with a sandwich?” Gemini can even have the ability to analyse your entire display screen and inform customers about granular product particulars, or if there are any reductions accessible.
Making captions expressive and enhancing textual content zoom
Within the Chrome browser, Google is giving a small raise to the auto-generated captions for movies. Let’s say you’re watching a soccer match. The captions will not simply comply with the commentator’s phrases, however can even match their feelings and expressions.
For instance, as an alternative of “objective,” customers with listening to points will see a convincing “goooaaal” for an added sprint of emotional emphasis. Google is looking them Expressive Captions.
Along with human speech, they may now additionally cowl vital sounds reminiscent of whistles, cheering, and even the speaker simply clearing their throat. Expressive captions will likely be accessible on all gadgets working Android 15 or a later model, within the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
One other significant change coming to the Chrome browser is adaptive textual content zoom, which is actually an replace on the Web page Zoom system accessible on Android telephones. Now, when customers enhance the scale of textual content, it is not going to have an effect on the format of the remainder of the net web page.
“You possibly can customise how a lot you need to zoom in and simply apply the choice to all of the pages you go to or simply particular ones,” says Google. Customers will have the ability to make zoom vary changes utilizing a slider on the backside of the web page.