By 
Google has announced a suite of new artificial intelligence (AI) and accessibility features rolling out to its Android operating system and Chrome browser, aiming to provide more intuitive and inclusive user experiences.
The updates bring the power of Gemini AI to TalkBack, Android’s screen reader, and introduce advancements in real-time captions and PDF accessibility in Chrome.
A major update involves TalkBack, which now integrates Gemini’s capabilities to offer richer image and on-screen content descriptions.
Building on last year’s introduction of AI-generated image descriptions for users with blindness or low vision, the enhanced TalkBack allows users to ask specific questions about images, even when alternative text is unavailable. For instance, users can inquire about the brand or color of a guitar in a photo received from a friend.
This functionality extends to the entire phone screen, enabling users to ask Gemini about the material of an item while shopping in an app or inquire about potential discounts.
Google is also refining its Expressive Captions feature, which provides real-time, AI-powered captions.
Recognizing that the way people speak conveys meaning, the update introduces a duration feature.
This will allow users to understand nuances in speech, such as an elongated “amaaazing” during a sports commentary or a drawn-out “nooooo” expressing emphasis.
Additionally, the feature will now include labels for non-verbal sounds like whistling or throat-clearing, providing a more comprehensive understanding of conversations.
The updated Expressive Captions are initially rolling out in English in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia for devices running Android 15 and above.
For Chrome users, Google is addressing the challenge of accessing information within scanned PDFs.
Previously, screen readers were unable to interact with these types of documents in the desktop browser.
Now, Chrome will automatically employ Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to recognize text within scanned PDFs.
This will enable users to highlight, copy, search, and use screen readers to navigate these documents as they would with any other webpage.
Comments