Google's Latest Accessibility Initiatives and Innovations

Google is enhancing accessibility through innovative features and dedicated resources for individuals with disabilities.

### Advancements in Accessibility at Google: New Features and Initiatives
* 🎉 Laura Allen, Head of Strategy and Programs for Accessibility at Google, introduces the **Accessibility Highlight series** aimed at sharing updates on **accessibility products and initiatives**.
* 🏢 In December 2022, Google launched the London Accessibility Discovery Center, fostering collaboration between **engineers, researchers, and disability communities** to enhance **assistive technologies**.
* 🌐 The new **Accessibility Resource Hub** on belonging.google consolidates Google's external resources for developers and designers to **promote accessibility in technology**.
* 📱 Recent updates on Android include **Reading Mode** for customized reading experiences and enhancements to TalkBack, including **"Icon Detection"** and improved **Braille support**.
* 🔔 Live Transcribe & Notifications now feature **Custom Sound Notifications**, allowing users to personalize alerts for household sounds, catering to the **deaf and hard-of-hearing community**.
* 📸 Pixel devices introduced **Guided Frame** for blind and low-vision users to capture selfies with **audio guidance**, while Pixel 7 and 7 Pro can now **transcribe audio messages** in multiple languages.
* 📅 Google Calendar Shortcuts have been implemented to **streamline navigation for screen reader users**, alongside improved accessibility settings in Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
* 🖥 Multi-pinning in Google Meet allows users to pin multiple videos, enhancing **accessibility for sign language interpreters and presenters** during meetings.

[light music] [Voiceover] What's new in accessibility at Google. Hi everyone! My name is Laura Allen, and my role as Head of Strategy and Programs for Accessibility and Disability Inclusion here at Google. I'm thrilled to be kicking off our Accessibility Highlight series, where every few months we'll be sharing the latest news about our accessibility products, features, and initiatives. First up, in December 2022, we opened the doors at our dedicated Accessibility Research and Development Center in the UK called the London Accessibility Discovery Center. Engineers, researchers, and wider product teams are using the center to workshop ideas and learn more about assistive technologies - collaborating and co-designing with disability communities. It's created opportunities for us to connect with individuals, governments, and other businesses to elevate conversations around accessibility. This project was developed in consultation with local organizations, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, Everyone Can,

and Google's Internal Disability Alliance Employee Resource Group. I'm excited to announce that the Accessibility Resource Hub is now live on our site belonging.google. The hub brings the best of Google's external accessibility resources together in one place for developers, designers, and technologists of all types looking to build a more accessible world. The Belonging site also makes it easier to explore Google's accessibility features and products, learn about Google's work on disability inclusion, and find Google's Accessibility Conformance Reports. We'll add direct links for some of those pages and the description of this video. We've also revamped Android.com/accessibility with the latest products and new dedicated pages for vision, hearing, and mobility, which have now been localized in UK English, French, Japanese, German, and Brazilian Portuguese. Speaking of Android, we recently launched a few new updates for users with dyslexia and vision and hearing-related disabilities. Reading Mode is an accessible

and personalized reading experience on Android. Users can customize the contrast, color, and font size of text without changes to the content. Or use the read-aloud feature to hear text verbalized. We've also made some updates to TalkBack, our Android screen reader. TalkBack 13.0 now includes “Icon Detection,” which uses machine learning to annotate unlabeled icons for more effective navigation. We followed that up with TalkBack 13.1, which increases Braille support and improves editing experiences with features like copy-paste, spellcheck, and new gestures for faster typing. And Custom Sound Notifications have been added to Live Transcribe & Notifications. This feature was designed with members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. In addition to detecting and alerting users to standard critical household sounds like fire alarms, running water, and door knocks, users can now add their own personalized sounds for appliances in their kitchen, so you can have a different alert for, say, a rice cooker versus a microwave.

In Pixel News, we announced Guided Frame, which is available on Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7, and Pixel 7 Pro. Guided Frame is a selfie feature aiming to help blind and low vision users like me capture selfies with a combination of precise audio guidance, high-contrast animation, and haptic feedback. We've also updated Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro to now transcribe Audio Messages. This feature is available in English, Japanese, German, and French and will roll out to other languages and other devices in the coming months. In Workspace, new Google Calendar Shortcuts were launched to improve efficiency for screen reader users. Announced Shortcuts for Calendar enables users to hear Calendar details like the title, date and time, and the guest list on demand instead of after time-consuming navigation. And we've granted more control over accessibility preferences in Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings. Rather than having the same accessibility settings apply across these products.

Users are now able to set preferences for each product individually. For example, screen reader support can now be enabled in one editor and Braille support in another. Finally, with Multi-pinning in Google Meet, users can now pin multiple participant videos during a meeting. This only impacts the user's local layout and can assist individuals with accessibility needs in a number of different cases. For example, you can paint a sign language interpreter and a presenter screen at the same time. Our accessibility teams across Google are working hard to continue building accessible, helpful products with and for people with disabilities. We look forward to sharing more updates like these with you in a few months. To learn more, sign up for our accessibility newsletter at g.co/a11y/news or by clicking the link in the description of this video. Until next time. What's new in accessibility at Google.

What’s new in Google accessibility | Episode 1

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Google's Latest Accessibility Initiatives

Google has launched the London Accessibility Discovery Center to collaborate with disability communities and improve assistive technologies.

The company has also created an Accessibility Resource Hub on their website to centralize external resources for developers and designers.

Additionally, Google has revamped their Android accessibility page and launched new updates for users with dyslexia and vision and hearing-related disabilities.

Enhancements for a Personalized Reading Experience on Android

Users can customize text contrast, color, and font size on Android, and use the read-aloud feature for verbalizing text.

0 introduced "Icon Detection" for better navigation, followed by 13.

1, which increased Braille support and improved editing experiences.

Live Transcribe & Notifications now offer Custom Sound Notifications, allowing users to detect critical household sounds and add personalized alerts for appliances.

New Accessibility Features in Pixel and Workspace

Guided Frame, a selfie feature for blind and low vision users, is now available on Pixel 6, 6 Pro, 7, and 7 Pro.

The Pixel 7 and 7 Pro have also been updated to transcribe Audio Messages in multiple languages.

Additionally, new Google Calendar Shortcuts and improved accessibility preferences have been introduced in Workspace to enhance efficiency for screen reader users.

Users can now set individual preferences for each product, such as enabling screen reader support in one editor and Braille support in another.

Multi-pinning in Google Meet allows users to pin multiple participant videos, assisting those with accessibility needs.

Google's accessibility teams are dedicated to building helpful products for people with disabilities and will share more updates in the future.