Android's latest version of TalkBack is out of beta and now ready for your consumption. Version 5.2 includes new speech verbosity settings, new audio earcons, and other minor improvements
These are changes which were announced during Google's session at the CSUN conference. As is customary, public betas of TalkBack were released a few weeks ago which can be installed by any current user. Most of these are available with Android 5.0 and newer, though a few will require newer versions of the operating system.
To review, here's the list of changes:
What's New in TalkBack 5.2
Speech Verbosity
The new Speech Verbosity setting lets you control how much spoken feedback you hear. Go to Talkback Settings > Speech Verbosity. and choose Custom, High, or Low.Custom (the default setting) lets you adjust all your speech preferences.
Choose High to quickly turn on speech preferences, or choose Low to quickly turn off speech preferences.
New spoken feedback:
Hear spoken feedback when you turn magnification on or off by triple-tapping, or when you zoom in or out by pinching (only on Android 7.0).
Hear the number of characters when you enter passwords in Chrome web views, starting in Chrome 56.
The word "dismissable" is no longer spoken on dismissable elements, such as notifications in the notification shade. Instead, the usage hint informs you when elements are dismissable.
"Custom actions" are now simply called "Actions."Other improvements:
Shorter delay before usage hints.
Updated earcons.
Other minor fixes.Introducing Select to Speak
Select to Speak is a new accessibility service designed for people with print disabilities. With Select to Speak, you can tap items on your screen to hear them read or described aloud.
When you upgrade to TalkBack 5.2, Select to Speak is included automatically. To try Select to Speak after upgrading to TalkBack 5.2, go to Accessibility > Select To Speak.
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J.J. Meddaugh is an experienced technology writer and computer enthusiast. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a major in telecommunications management and a minor in business. When not writing for Blind Bargains, he enjoys travel, playing the keyboard, and meeting new people.
