In recognition of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Google has announced a few new updates to its accessibility features on Android. These features include improvements to the accuracy and number of supported languages to its Live Transcribe feature and Bluetooth support to Sound Amplify for those who are hard of hearing, along with better navigation options to Voice Access.
The biggest of its newly announces features though is the launch of a new Action Blocks app designed to make operating your mobile phone even easier. Essential, Action Blocks enables a person to set up little Google Assistant macros to automate common things you’d normally have to use your voice for so that at the push of a button a person can do things like switching lights on and off, reading out or translating your text messages or phoning the office to let them know they will be running late yet again.
The idea behind Action Blocks I quite simple in how it allows a person to easily build automated functions out of a variety of different phone operations, though Google has indicated that in the future it may open up API support for other third party integrations, which could allow Androids vast development community to enhance many of the functions even more .
Another nice feature coming with its Live Transcribe improvements is the ability for the phone to vibrate every time your name is called out, alerting you to the possibility that your name might have been called by someone around you. A feature which is great for the hard of hearing but could prove frustrating if you have a very common name or one that sounds too similar to other words.
Last Updated: May 25, 2020
