According to The World Bank, 15% of the world’s population has some type of disability. People with disabilities depend on accessible apps and services to use their smartphones. Accessibility can be useful for all kinds of users, not only those with disabilities. For example, while cooking, we can use accessibility feature and use voice commands to navigate instead of touching the screen. Android has several built-in accessibility options. Listed below are 5 useful Android Accessibility Settings.
Getting started with the Android accessibility settings
#1. Magnification Gestures
When this feature is on, you can zoom in and out by triple tapping the screen. When zoomed in, you can:
- Pan: Drag two or more fingers across the screen.
- Adjust the zoom level: Pinch two or more fingers together or spread them apart.
You can also temporarily magnify what is under your finger by triple tapping and holding. In this magnified state, you can drag your finger to explore different parts of the screen. To return to the previous state, simply lift your finger. You can access this feature from the Accessibility Option in your Settings Screen.
[quote]Note: The triple tap for magnification works everywhere except the keyboard.[/quote]
#2. Text To Speech
One of the accessibility settings to look out for is TTS. TTS, short for Text To Speech is one of the underlying features of Android that makes it so powerful. It can enable apps to speak to you or read aloud the screen content. Enable Text to Speech: Go to Settings >> Accessibility > Text to Speech options.
You may have your manufacture’s engine along with Google’s engine listed here. You can also select a different default language and download any of the languages. There are other useful options available such as speech rate – it controls how slow or how fast your device will speak out to you. Additionally, you’ll want to make sure you get updates. Touch the settings dial and on the next screen check that auto-updates are turned on. You can also force updates over Wi-Fi and send anonymous usage reports so Google can improve the service.
#3. Talkback
When Talkback is on, your device provides spoken feedback to help the visually impaired and user with low vision. For example, it describes what you touch select and activate. It acts as a built-in screen reader. If you turn TalkBack on accidentally, you turn it off tapping the switch until the green outline is around it, then double tapping it. Do the same interaction for the resulting confirmation dialog.
Advanced features in TalkBack like Explore on Touch can be amazing, but it can also observe and repeat sensitive information like credit card information and passwords. Be mindful of surroundings and volume when using these features.
#4 Negative Colors / Color Adjustment / Invert colors
Color inversion is a feature that is available on devices running Android 5.0 and higher. It can make night reading easier for you. Staring at a bright screen before going to bed can cause all sorts of problems for your sleeping patterns. Color inversion can protect your eyes and solve this problem.
#5. Interaction Control
This features enables you to customize the way you interact with your applications and settings on your device. With interaction control, you can:
- Block or unblock areas of the screen from touch interaction
- Turn off Auto rotate screen feature and hard key functions
- Only show application notifications in the notification panel and the status bar.
To outline the area you want to block on the current screen, or to turn off Interaction Control, press and hold the home key and the volume down key at the same time. If Interaction Control is turned on as part of the Direct Access feature, press the home key three times instead to turn it on or off.
Did you try these android accessibility settings on your device? Let us know in the comment section below.
[quote]Also Read:
Capture Scrolling Screenshots [Android]
How To: Fix Water Damage [Smartphones]
How to get Emojis on our Android Device[/quote]
