Google Announces Accessibility Updates for Maps, Lookout, and More

In addition to the accessibility updates it’s rolling out in education, Google has also announced similar updates for Maps, Lookout, and more.

“Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, a day dedicated to talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion for the more than 1.3 billion people with disabilities around the world,” Google senior director Eve Andersson explains. “We’re rolling out eight new accessibility features across our products and platforms — built together with and for people with disabilities.”

They are:

More detailed walking instructions and local information in Maps. Google Maps for Android and iOS supports detailed voice guidance and screen reader capabilities for Lens in Maps, and these features are now available globally in all languages. Voice guidance provides audio prompts so you know when you are heading in the right direction, crossing a busy intersection, or need to be rerouted. And the screen reader in Lens in Maps speaks the names and types of places around you so you can better orient yourself.

Accessibility information for places in Maps. Google Maps now has accessibility information for over 50 million places. Places with wheelchair-accessible entrances display a special icon that provides details about accessible restrooms, parking, and seating. This icon was previously available on Android and iOS worldwide, and now it’s rolling out to desktop too. Maps also lets you filter reviews by wheelchair accessibility on Android and iOS.

Auracast hearing assistance in Maps. Businesses can now promote that they provide Auracast audio casting for those who need hearing assistance and have Auracast-compatible hearing aids.

Find objects and capture images in Lookout. Google’s Lookout app for Android helps people with blindness and low vision use their phone’s camera to get more information about the world around them. Today, a new Find mode is rolling out in beta, so you can find specific objects and be notified about their direction and distance as well.

Text-free mode in Look to Speak. Google’s Look to Speak app on Android allows users to select pre-written, customizable phrases with their eyes and have them spoken aloud. Today, the app is being updated with a new text-free mode that lets you also select and personalize emojis, symbols, and photos to activate speech.

Hands-free cursor for Android. Project Gameface is an open source, hands-free gaming mouse for Windows PCs, and now it’s coming to Android via GitHub. It’s also expanding to educational, work, and other use cases.

Improvements to Custom Cards in Project Relate. Launched in 2022, Project Relate is an Android app that helps people with non-standard speech create a personalized speech recognition model so they can communicate and be understood more effectively. Project Relate uses Custom Cards to help users customize the phrases used to teach the model, and it’s being updated so you can select text and import phrases from other apps, like Google Docs.

Sound Notifications improvements. Android’s Sound Notifications feature alerts you when household sounds—a doorbell ringing, a smoke alarm going off, and so on—occur using push notifications, camera light flashes, and/or vibrations. Based on feedback Google has redesigned Sound Notifications, improving onboarding and sound event browsing, and making it easier to save custom sounds for appliances.