Skip to main content

You can now use facial gestures to control your Android phone

Google is making Android more accessible for everyone.

What you need to know

  • Google is rolling out a new accessibility feature that makes it possible to use facial gestures to control your phone.
  • The feature will begin rolling out to users this week.
  • Google is also bringing handwriting recognition to the Lookout app.

Google is adding two new accessibility features to Android, aimed at making it easier for people with motor and speech disabilities to interact with their phones.

The new Camera Switches features, which will be a part of the Android Accessibility Suite, enables users to navigate their phones using facial gestures such as raising eyebrows, smiling, looking up, and more. It basically turns a phone's selfie camera into a switch and works as an "adaptive tool that replaces a keyboard or mouse or touching the phone screen." Users will be able to choose a combination of gestures and even customize them to their range of movement.

In addition to scanning and selecting, users can assign gestures to go back to the home screen, open notifications, and pause gesture detection. You can get started with the new feature by heading over to the Android Accessibility settings on the best Android phones under Switch Access.

Project Activate is a new app that has been designed to help people who are unable to speak or have neurologic conditions to activate preset actions using facial gestures and eye movements. You can use the app to do things like sending a text message, making a phone call, playing a text-to-speech phrase, and more.

The app is now available to download from the Google Play Store. For now, however, the app is limited to users in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia.

Along with the new accessibility features, Google is also adding handwriting recognition to its Lookout app. The app, which was announced at Google I/O 2019, is now capable of reading out handwritten and printed text for Latin-based languages in Documents mode.

Additionally, Google is bringing Euro and Indian Rupee recognition within Currency mode. Google plans to add more currencies for its growing global audience in the future.



Source: androidcentral
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Apple and Meta Reportedly Discussed AI Partnership for iOS 18

Apple has held discussions with Meta about integrating the Facebook owner's AI model into iOS 18 as part of its Apple Intelligence feature set, according to a report over the weekend. Meta launched Llama 2, its large language model, in July 2023, and in April, the company released the latest versions of its AI models, called Llama 3 . The Wall Street Journal reports that the two longtime rivals have held talks about offering Meta's model as an additional option to OpenAI's ChatGPT. The paywalled report notes that the discussions haven't been finalized and could fall through. As part of Apple Intelligence, Apple has announced a partnership with OpenAI that will allow Siri to access ChatGPT directly in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia to provide better responses in relevant situations. Using ChatGPT will be optional, so users with concerns about the technology can abstain and still make use of Apple's own new AI features. Speaking at WWDC 2024, Apple's
Read more

Here Are the macOS Sequoia Features Intel Macs Won't Support

When Apple released macOS Monterey in 2021, some key features required a Mac with Apple silicon. The same scenario played out with macOS Ventura in 2022, and then again the following year with the release of macOS Sonoma. With macOS Sequoia set to arrive in the fall, which new features can Intel Mac owners expect to be unavailable to them this time around? Apple says that macOS Sequoia is compatible with the same Macs as macOS Sonoma, but Apple's fine print reveals that certain new features won't work on Intel machines. If you're still on an Intel Mac, here's what you won't have access to. Apple Intelligence Apple Intelligence , a deeply integrated, personalized AI feature set for Apple devices that uses cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence to enhance the user experience, won't be available on Intel Macs. Apple says the advanced features require its M1 chip or later, so if your Mac was released before November 2020, you're out of luck. T
Read more

iPhone 16 Pro Models to Adopt 'M14' Advanced Samsung OLED Panels for Improved Brightness and Lifespan

The upcoming iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be the first Apple smartphones to adopt Samsung's high performance "M14" OLED display panel, claims a new report coming out of South Korea. According to ETNews , Samsung's "M" series of OLED panels are made for flagship smartphones, while "14" refers to the number of high-performance materials used to produce them. "M14" is the first series of its kind, and the panel is said to have been developed to deliver superior brightness and longevity. Samsung has reportedly placed orders for the M14 materials and is preparing to mass produce the displays in the second half of the year for Apple's iPhone 16 Pro models. Google's Pixel 9 smartphone is the only other device that is expected to adopt the high-performance displays in 2024. A previous report out of China claimed that this year's ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ models will feature up to 1,200 nits of typical SDR brightness – a 20%
Read more

Apple Boosts A18 Chip Orders in Anticipation of High iPhone 16 Demand

Apple is said to have upped its order of next-generation chips from TSMC to between 90 million and 100 million units, following heightened demand expectations for its iPhone 16 series. Last year's initial chip order volume for the iPhone 15 series launch is believed to have been in the region of 80-90 million units, suggesting Apple is anticipating higher demand for its 2024 devices, according to Taiwanese outlet CTEE . The arrival of Apple Intelligence in iOS 18 is expected to boost initial sales of the devices. One of the reasons is that Apple Intelligence requires at least an iPhone 15 Pro to run, which means owners of last year's iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will miss out on Apple's new AI features unless they upgrade to an iPhone 15 Pro or plump for one of the iPhone 16 models. Last year, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus were equipped with the A16 Bionic chip – the same chip that was in the iPhone 14 Pro models – whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max f
Read more