Those who have worked to develop the Android platform want to make sure that everyone has access to using the devices no matter what may be hindering them. Those with permanent disabilities such as visual or hearing impairments or those with temporary impairments such as a broken arm can use most Android features by enabling the appropriate Android accessibility options.
But what about the rest of us? Are these options only for those who are disabled in some way? Although that’s the reason the options are available, these accessibility options are for everyone. They can make some tasks you need to complete on your phone much easier.
Here are five accessibility options you may be interested in checking out. There are so many more you will encounter as you look at these, too. Why not make your Android experience even simpler than it already is?
1. Magnification
Using the magnification gestures option will greatly enlarge everything on your screen except for the keyboard and the navigation bar. To use this option, first enable it in Settings.
1. Open Settings by pulling down the top shade of your phone and pressing the gear icon in the top-right corner.
2. Scroll down to select Accessibility.
3. Tap “Visibility enhancements.”
4. Scroll down to find magnification and tap it.
5. Select Triple tap screen to magnify.
6. Press the toggle switch to enable the magnification.
Once you have enabled magnification gestures, triple tap. The screen will enlarge like the following image.
To move around the screen, place two fingers on the screen and drag them around. Triple tap again to return the display to standard magnification.
2. High contrast fonts
If you sometimes find the text a little difficult to read, you can change the fonts to high contrast fonts and make the text stand out more.
1. Open Settings as described above. Then scroll down and select Accessibility.
2. Tap “Visibility enhancements.”
3. Turn on the toggle switch next to High contrast fonts.
Once you have turned it on, all the text on your phone will have new outlines that make it easier to read.
Here’s how the search bar on the app screen looks before and after enabling High contrast fonts.
3. Color Lens
If you have trouble reading print for an extended period, you may benefit from the use of the “Color Lens” accessibility option. This option adds a layer of color over your text. You can change the color and the intensity of the color to reduce eye strain, eliminate headaches, and allow you to read faster and for a longer time.
To experiment with Color lens, access the “Visibility enhancements,” scroll down, and select Color lens.
4. Subtitles
If you have trouble hearing the words being spoken on a video because of hearing loss, you can use Google subtitles to add those words to the screen. It will also come in handy if you are in a loud environment or a quiet one where the sound would be distracting.
To find Subtitles, follow these directions:
1. Open Settings, as described above, then scroll down and select Accessibility.
2. Tap Hearing enhancements.
3. Locate Google Subtitles and toggle the switch on.
4. Tap the words “Google Subtitles,” and you can set different options for the captions it creates.
Those options include the language for the captions, text size, and the style of the captions.
5. Interaction control
If you have difficulty swiping the screen to answer or end calls, you can change the settings in Interaction control to use the hard keys. There are options to use the Power button to end a call and the Volume up button to answer.
1. Open Settings as described above. Scroll down and select Accessibility.
2. Tap Interaction and dexterity.
3. Locate the option “Answering and ending calls” and tap it.
4. Turn on any switches for options you would like to enable.
As you can see, the Android Accessibility options, although designed for those with disabilities, can be useful to everyone. Which of these options will you use? Or what other ones did you discover that may be useful to everyone?
Tracey Rosenberger spent 26 years teaching elementary students, using technology to enhance learning. Now she's excited to share helpful technology with teachers and everyone else who sees tech as intimidating.