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What's new in accessibility at Google Hi everyone, It's Laura Allen, Director of Products for All back with another episode of What's new in Google accessibility. Today, we'll discuss some exciting product updates for Pixel, Android, Chrome Browser, GBoard, Gemini, Workspace, and Search, as well as an announcement about our brand new accessibility website and help community. We're excited to introduce Rambler a smart new way to translate spoken language into written text currently available on Pixel 11 devices with more devices to follow.
Gboard on Android already lets you convert speech to text quickly and accurately, but the way we talk isn't always the way we want to write. When speaking aloud we tend to self-correct, repeat ourselves, or use "ums" and "likes." With Rambler, you can speak naturally and capture the important parts of what you say in a concise message. Afterwards, you can edit your text easily with your voice. If you're using TalkBack, you can start and stop this quickly with a two finger double tap gesture. Sign-to-text is a new feature that translates American Sign Language (ASL) into written English. Developed in partnership with the Deaf and hard of hearing community, this feature is powered by a multilingual sign-language-to-text-translation model SL2T
that analyzes hand shapes, facial expressions, and body movements. It supports both one-handed and two-handed signing, and translates them into written English in real time. Similar to how you can use dictation instead of typing, sign-to-text enables you to sign your phone anywhere you normally type with Gboard. You can sign to search the web, prompt Gemini, draft messages or documents, or have a conversation with someone using Live Transcribe.
Sign-to-text is currently available on Pixel 11, with support for more devices and additional sign languages coming soon. The Camera app on Pixel now includes Gemini integration into Guided Frame, a feature that assists blind and low-vision users to take photos. With Gemini, Guided Frame users can expand beyond generic framing cues like "move left" by using voice prompts to capture specific subjects and complex scenes. For instance, at a breakfast table you could say, "Focus on the omelet in the upper right corner," or "center on the fried egg," and Guided Frame can help you capture that specific shot.
[Gemini voice] Framing rice with egg. Move your phone slightly down. Hold. Auto guide resumed This Guided Frame update is currently available on Pixel 11 series with support for Pixel 6A and newer devices coming soon. For blind and low-vision Android users like me, or if you just forgot your reading glasses, the new Guided Vision with Gemini doesn't just describe what's in front of you, it helps you interact with it. Once the feature is enabled, you can share your camera in Gemini Live to get audio guidance on things around you, like reading the fine print on food labels verbatim, identifying color differences, ordering from low-lit menus, or locating household objects.
Gemini can also give more accurate and useful guidance by letting you know if you need to adjust your camera framing by panning across the space or centering an object. Passengers who experience motion sickness while using their Android device in a moving vehicle may benefit from Motion Assist, a new feature that adds a subtle bubble overlay to their device screen. These bubbles move with the vehicle bridging the gap between what you see and the movement of the ride, which can make phone usage more comfortable while you travel.
Motion Assist is available on Android 17 and later. Also for Android, Voice Access has new features to make hands-free navigation even more seamless. When you speak, a redesigned feedback bar now automatically resizes to fit your words, floating neatly below the top of the screen so your clock, battery, and notifications stay visible. You'll also see an active blue glow while you speak and a solid outline for responses with text that adjusts to match your preferred font size.
Making phone calls with your voice has also become simpler, since Voice Access can identify contacts by how names sound, rather than relying on the exact spelling. If you have contacts with similar names, Voice Access brings up a quick menu so you can choose the right person and phone number, hands-free. With Gboard, the size of emojis now automatically adjusts to align with the device system's font size. This enhancement is designed to make emojis more convenient for users with low vision and/or those who rely on larger display text. For further personalization, the default scaling can be overridden and emoji dimensions
can be customized to suit individual preferences. Moving over to Chrome browser, Reading Mode, a Chrome feature for deeper focus, now offers a full-page, fully immersive experience designed to reduce visual distractions on busy webpages. We have an exciting development for how Workspace with Gemini can be used to address executive functioning challenges. These skills can be hard for everyone, but the difficulties are particularly pronounced for the approximately 20 percent of the population who are neurodivergent. The Workspace team worked with Understood.org, an organization that supports people with learning and thinking differences.
Together we've created a guide to effective work, offering strategies that support executive function with the help of AI. This includes tips like using Gemini to create the first draft of a document, silencing notifications during scheduled blocks of "Focus Time" in Google Calendar, taking notes during a presentation, or summarizing long email threads. We'll link to the guide in the description of this video. On Search, we launched two updates to improve the keyboard navigation experience in AI Mode.
We've created simple keyboard shortcuts for desktop that allow users to quickly navigate between the input fields, their prompts, and replies in their conversation history. We're also releasing a new jump link to help users easily return to earlier points in the conversation. Both updates will make it easier for users to navigate quickly and efficiently through long conversational AI responses. Last but not least, we are thrilled to launch the official Google Accessibility Help Community- a dedicated hub created for users who rely on assistive technology or accessibility features across Google products and services.
Here you can troubleshoot issues, connect with fellow users and accessibility advocates worldwide, and exchange practical tips. Join the conversation at: support.google.com/accessibility/community That concludes this episode of What's new in Google accessibility. To discover more about our new features, updates, and resources, and to sign up for our newsletter, visit our new website at accessibility.google Be sure to check out the video description below for links and additional details for many of these updates.
Thanks so much for tuning in. What's new in accessibility at Google
