What’s new with TalkBack 15.0

Your experience with TalkBack 15.0 is improved with:

More detailed image descriptions:
- Images are now described in richer detail with generative AI.
  - Manual descriptions use server-side models if a network connection is available. For automatic image descriptions, you can choose to use on-device generative AI if you have Pixel 9 series phones.
- You can trigger image descriptions:
  1. Open the TalkBack menu.
  2. Select Describe image.
- Tip: You can enable detailed descriptions in TalkBack settings. Generated descriptions won't work in all languages. For Pixel 9 series devices, on-device models take a while to download when you first set up your device.
Reading improvements:
- Punctuation and symbol control: You can control the punctuation and symbols you want to hear when reading.
- “Read from next” feature: Renamed and improved.
Braille:
- New editing gestures: You can select from beginning to current position and vice-versa while you edit with the on-screen Braille keyboard or Braille display.
- New Braille display commands: You can select text from the start to the current position and vice-versa while you edit with the Braille display commands.

Improved reading experience

Punctuation verbosity

Now, you have more control over the level of punctuation you hear when text is read out loud. You can choose to hear some, most, and all punctuation.

Some: Normal reading of a section of text where punctuations are intoned, but not read out.
Most: Reads out common punctuations relevant for typing and editing.
All: Read out all punctuations, even uncommon ones.

To adjust the punctuation level:

On your screen, tap TalkBack menu with your 3 fingers.
Tap TalkBack Settings Verbosity Speak punctuation and symbols.

Tip: To quickly adjust punctuation verbosity and add “Speak punctuation and symbols” to your reading controls:

Go to TalkBack Settings.
Tap Customize menus Customize reading controls.

Read from focused item

Now, you can read from the currently focused item on your screen. This is an improvement over the previously available “Read from next” feature.

To read from the currently focused item, triple-tap with 2 fingers.
To stop the speech, tap once with 2 fingers.
To resume reading from the currently focused item, tap with 2 fingers.
To invoke the TalkBack menu:
1. Tap once with 3 fingers.
2. Activate Read from focused item.

Braille

You can select the text from the start to the current position and vice-versa while you edit either with a Braille display or on-screen Braille keyboard.

Braille keyboard

To select from the start to the current position of the text box:
1. Press and hold dots 4 and 5.
2. Swipe up with 2 fingers.
To select from the current position to the end of the text box:
1. Press and hold dots 4 and 5.
2. Swipe down with 2 fingers.

Braille display

To select from the start to the current position of the text box, press Space with dots 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8.
To select from the current position to the end of the text box, press Space with dots 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.