More inclusive Android 13: native support for Braille displays, soon in beta

May 25, 2022

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In the next beta of Android 13 will be introduced the native support for Braille displays. Google communicates this with a blog post on the occasion of the Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the world accessibility day. Apple had moved in the same direction earlier with the announcement of a series of new features arriving by the end of the year.

The goal is to make life easier for those forced to interface with Android through one Braille screen, that is, that device that mechanically reproduces the inputs shown on a display through a complex of rounded needles that rise from a perforated flat surface. Those who know Braille use special screens to read texts by touch. They are useful devices for blind to use their device silently, and in fact necessary to deafblind.

Currently to connect a Braille display is you need to download a special app from the Play Store, Google BrailleBack. In the future it will hardly be needed anymore, because Google wants to introduce native support for most of these devices in Talkback, the integrated screen reader on Android that allows you to use the devices without having to look at the screen of the device itself.

Support for Braille displays will be available in Android 13 Beta 3 “coming in the next few weeks” to then almost certainly land on a permanent basis in the final release of Android 13. The arrival in beta will serve to ascertain the presence of any bugs or malfunctions, so as to allow Google to remedy before the final release.