Alongside a slew of announcements tied to Samsung’s Galaxy S25 launch at Samsung Unpacked 2025 on Wednesday, Google announced a pair of accessibility improvements for Android. This includes improvements to the screen reader, along with hearing aid functionality.
The hearing aid updates arrive after Google expanded the offering as part of its Android 15 rollout. Last year was a big year for the hearing aid industry, as the FDA approved over-the-counter access to the technology in May. This, in turn, has created a new industry of smart hearing aids tied to mobile devices.
In September, Apple was granted FDA approval for AirPods Pro to double as hearing aids. It’s a move that will no doubt be echoed by several earbud manufacturers in the coming year, facilitated by both first-party software and Android updates.
Wednesday’s updates bring LE Bluetooth compatibility, which, in turn, delivers features like hands-free calling and lower latency connections. Along with the S25, the feature is rolling out for the S24 and Google’s own Pixel 9, courtesy of the Android 16 beta updates.
At the same time, Android’s TalkBack screen reader. People who use braille will be able to access HID (human interface design). Introducing the HID standard in 2018, the USB-IF foundation noted that it will, “make it easier to use a braille display across operating systems and different types of hardware. It will also simplify development, removing the need for braille devices to have custom software and drivers created for a particular operating system or screen reader.”
The feature is arriving on the Galaxy S25 in the coming weeks, followed by all smartphones and tablets running Android 15 in the coming months. TalkBack is also getting improved image descriptions through Google Gemini.
