Google Accessibility Features Suites to Enable Persons Living with Disabilities.

We have so many Google Accessibility Features on plays tore. Most Persons Living with Disabilities are usually conversant with these two apps: Talk back app and Select to speak app which are most times usually inbuilt in latest versions of Android

For the Blind and people with Low Vision Users (Visual Impaired)

Here are some apps to use on your android phones. Kindly note that some low android phones with lower versions may not be compatible with some of these apps. However, never feel discouraged.

1. Select to Speak- It speaks any text or reads images by selection. So, any portion of text you highlight, copy or select, the select to speak reads them for you
   
2. Magnification– This is mainly used by people with low vision and elderly people with low vision too. This app helps you zoom in to see your smartphone screen better.

3. Talk back: This helps to control your device with gesture. It helps to simplify volume control, describe text in images too. To get started: Open your device setting, then look for accessibility. Select the Accessibility menu and click on talk back. For talk back, you can press and hold both volume keys. You can download the Accessibility Suite on Play store which has the following app like Switch Access, Select to Speak, including Talk Back. The accessibility suite require an Android 6 (Android M) of later version. If you are using the wear deices, you would need Wear OS 3.0 or a later version.

4. Google Assistant: This makes it easier to use your pones and apps hand free. It helps you to save time and get things done effectively with the help of Google. It also gets proactive information and contextual reminders to help with just what you need.

5. Google Braille Back: This is a Google Accessibility Feature for blind users, which make use of braille devices. It works together with the Talkback app to give a combined and effete braille and speech experience. The app lets you to connect to a supported refreshable braille display to your deice through a Bluetooth.

The Screen content will be presented on braille display and you can navigate and interact with your devices using the keys on the display. It is possible to input text using the braille keyboard.

The devices supported are

1. APH Refreshabraille
2. Baum VarioConnect
3. Baum VarioUltra
4. Esys EuroBraille
5. Freedom Scientific Focus Blue (14 and 40 cell models)
6. Handy Tech (Basic Brille, Actie Braille, Braille Star, Braille Wave, Braillino, Easy Braille)
7. Harpo (Braillepen 12, Braillepan 12 Touch)
8. HIMS (BrailleSense, Braille EDGE)
9. Humanware Brailliant (1^st Generation and BI Models)
10. Optelec Alva (BC640, BC680), Easylink 12 touch
11. Orbit Reader 20
12. Papermeier Braillex Trio
13. Seika (notetaker and 40 cell display)

To activate the app on your device, go to setting, select accessibility and then select Brailleback and turn it on

Then, go to Bluetooth and pair the Brailleback

6. Lookout (Google LLC): This app describes the world around you. It offers details about still images. It improves reading order for menus, receipts and other formatted text. Note that any Google app usually have Google LLC beneath so that you do not download the wrong lookout app. You can search like this on playstore: ‘LookoutGoogleLLC’

It has six (6) menus: They are Explore, Food Labels, Text, Document, Currency and Images, which serves as a visual assistant to help people with vision loss.

• Explore Menu- it helps to detect the object more accurately in your surroundings
• Food labeler– It recognizes more food around you and detect it. Although, it cannot detect all the food. It can identify packaged foods in their labels. In addition, it can scan barcodes The app is available in more than 20 countries.
• Image mode– It describes the content of an image offering both a summary and in details.
• Capture: It captures a whole page of text or handwriting with documents mode.
• Text mode: It skims text and reads it aloud.

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