7 accessibility options in Android to make your life easier

We’ve all seen how blind people can take better selfies with their Pixel, but what’s it like using a phone as a blind person? If, like me, you don’t know visual challenges, it’s often difficult to think of what’s on the device to help people who do. Read and learn: these are 7 accessibility options within Android that can make the lives of many people significantly easier.

1. Extended voice control

We all know Google Assistant, but Android has much more voice control capabilities. You can use Voice Access. Here you can get just about anything done on your phone by simply telling it what you want. When you use it for the first time, you will be taken through the whole process. That’s how you learn how it works. You will notice that the explanation is in English. Fortunately, you don’t have to think of everything yourself, because when you are within the settings for Voice Access, you can find the Voice Access commands (or say: All Commands) and see what exactly you need to say to make your phone do exactly what you want. what you want. Scroll up, scroll down, bring up the quick settings menu, open recent apps, and so on.

Where you find it? Under Settings -> Accessibility -> Voice Access

If you don’t have that option, download the Voice Access app separately from the Play Store via the button below.

Voice Access

Voice Access

Google’s Voice Access app is the most comprehensive hands-free mode available for Android. The application is aimed at people with motor disabilities.

2. Live subtitles

Someone sends you a YouTube video to make a point, but you just got on a crowded train with no earbuds. Especially if you are a very curious little dog, that can be extremely annoying. You want to react quickly, you want to hear it and suddenly that train feels like a prison. Fortunately, you don’t have to. You can turn on subtitles. You can do that, among other things, by using the volume buttons when you start the video: a square with dashes appears. Tap that and you turn on live subtitles. It is not yet available in Dutch, but it is available in English. We also recommend that you only use it with English spoken videos (or one of the other supported languages, such as German and Spanish), otherwise it will make complete nonsense. I hope Dutch support comes soon, but we only speak a small language of course.

Where you find it? Where I just described, but also via Settings -> Accessibility -> Live captions

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3. Face control

If you want a very modern approach, you can even control your phone with your face. Very practical if you don’t have any hands free, or don’t have any hands at all. It works much like the hand gestures above your device, but with your head. If you look to the left, the phone will see it as ‘back’, if you look up, you will go to the notifications. If you raise your eyebrows, you won’t be surprised, you just want to go to your home screen. If you want your quick settings menu to open when you open your mouth, you can. This option is called Switch Access.

Where you find it? Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Switch access

4. Smart sound notifications

While the above options are very useful, they are not exactly life-saving. The smart sound notifications are. This allows your phone to listen to ambient sounds. If it hears a baby cry or a fire alarm goes off, the phone starts to vibrate and flash with the flash, in addition to a notification about what sounds. A real life saver, because otherwise you might not notice the fire in time at all. A demo is available, so you can also try it out without any problem. By the way, it goes way beyond fire alarms, it can also detect barking, the doorbell, knocking, shouting and running water and warn you.

Where you find it? Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Sound notifications

5. Sound amplifier

Some people are a little disco deaf, or really deaf, or just have trouble focusing on a specific sound in a room full of people clucking. It’s still awkward to nod “yes” on the gamble when someone says something to you at a noisy birthday party. With the sound amplifier in Android, that is hopefully a thing of the past, although it does look a bit antisocial: it uses your headphones to adjust the audio in such a way that background noise is filtered out and you have more focus on what you do want to belong. That sounds a lot more comfortable.

Where you find it? Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Sound Enhancer

6. Hang up your phone faster

It is sometimes not possible to quickly reach your phone – or the right button on your phone – and hang up a call. If the other person does not do that either, you leave the line open unnecessarily and you both sit somewhat uncomfortably waiting for the other person to take action. That is the same as when you have already said goodbye after a meeting, but it turns out that you are both heading in the same direction. Do you want to be there like the chickens to press that red phone? You don’t even have to, you can also approach it differently. You can make pressing the power button end a call.

Where you find it? Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> System Options -> Power button ends call

7. Larger text

You can display a lot of text on your screen if you want, but then you are looking at a very tight font. Your eyes will thank you if you choose a nice thick letter. Please note, because with large letters it is also easier for others to read along, but if that makes it easier for your eyes to read (or read at all), then we are happy to accept that. You can make your font larger (Settings -> Screen -> Display size and text -> Font size. Within accessibility you will also find the option magnificationwhich makes it easier to make something large quickly by zooming in.

Where you find it? Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Magnification

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Thanks for the tip Katy!

Do you know of any other options that make your phone significantly more accessible? Leave it now in the comments.