What’s new in TalkBack 13.1

In TalkBack 13.1, actions are now part of the reading controls. To access contextual options for elements that support them and perform editing tasks such as cut, copy, and paste, use TalkBack actions.

To select an action from the reading controls:
Important: Actions granularity is available when you focus on an item that has associated actions.

1. Switch to “actions” granularity by swiping with 3 fingers.
2. Swipe up or down.
3. To activate, double tap the desired action.

You can correct misspelled words with TalkBack. When spelling errors are detected, and corrections are available, TalkBack plays a sound and provides a hint.

When a misspelled word is detected, TalkBack alerts you by sound, vibration, and hint.

1. Choose characters, words, or spell check options from the reading controls.
2. When focused on a misspelled word, to choose a suggested correction, select Actions in reading controls.

Tip: On Samsung devices, when "Autocorrect" is turned on, spell check will be unavailable.

To type faster, use split tap.
Important: This feature requires Android 13 and up.

1. On the keyboard, to locate the letters that you want to enter, explore the screen with one finger. 
2. Keep your first finger on the screen.
3. To type the desired letter, tap with a second finger.

To change accessibility volume, hold one finger on the screen while pressing the volume buttons. To adjust multimedia volume, press volume buttons. For various app functionality, such as taking pictures in the camera app, press the volume buttons.

To help get out of a long grid or list, container navigation is added to TalkBack. When in a container like a list or grid, to escape, use a four-finger swipe right or left.

To add Hide screen as an item:

1. In the reading controls, go to TalkBack Settings  Customize menus.
2. Under the special section, click Hide screen.

To customize a gesture to toggle hiding the screen: 

1. Go to TalkBack Settings  Customize gestures.
2. Select a gesture.
3. Click Hide screen.

For Braille displays over USB, TalkBack provides support. This support includes displays from Humanware which use the HID protocol like Mantis, BI 20X, and 40X displays, and Focus Blue displays from Freedom Scientific.

To use USB support:

1. Turn on your Braille display.
2. Select Braille terminal or USB mode.
3. Plug it into your phone. 
4. To use Braille, when prompted, click Allow permission.

Tip: Your phone battery may drain faster than expected with USB Braille support, and your Braille display battery may be charged. If your Braille display is at or below 15%, to alert you, you’ll receive a notification.

For new locales and Braille tables, including North American Computer Braille, TalkBack 13.1 provides support. To add a language: 

1. Go to TalkBack Settings  Braille Display  Languages  Add a language.
2. Choose your desired language and Braille tables.

Tip: Once you’ve added the Braille tables of your choice, you can choose between the selected tables for preferred reading and input. You can also change Braille grade for English UEB. For reading and input, select separate tables.

Supported languages include:

• Ancient Greek
• Arabic
• Catalan
• Central Kurtish
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch
• English
• Estonian
• Finnish
• French
• German
• Greek
• Gujarati
• Hungarian
• Italian
• Khmer
• Malayalam
• Marathi
• Nepali
• Northern Sami
• Norwegian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Romanian
• Russian
• Serbian
• Sinhala
• Slovak
• Spanish
• Swedish
• Tamil
• Telugu
• Turkish
• Ukrainian
• Urdu
• Vietnamese
• Welsh