Galaxy Accessibility Suite

Maybe you're in an impossibly noisy environment and need to tell something to a colleague who can't hear you over all the ruckus. Or maybe you're giving a talk somewhere and want to have your words appear on a projector or TV, courtesy of Android's built-in casting capability, so anyone can follow along with what you're saying — even if they're too far back in the room to hear you clearly. Whatever the case may be, Google's new Live Transcribe option is ready to help. The feature is simple as can be: You fire it up, and it puts whatever you're saying into words on your screen. It's like automated closed captioning for regular life, and it works impressively well. JR To use Live Transcribe, you'll first need to download the app and then look for the "Live Transcribe" option within the Accessibility section of your system settings. Activate the toggle there, and you'll then get that delightful happy-dude icon in the lower-righ...

There's no shame in the occasional long-distance squinting effort, but gosh darn it, we all have days when the text on our fancy phone screens just seems slightly too small to read comfortably — even when it's right in front of our faces. (If you don't have those days yet, just wait. You will.) Android has a few built-in options for giving your eyes a break, all tucked away with that same Accessibility section of the system settings: Font size. This adjusts just the main text on your screen (in apps and even throughout the actual Android interface) to make it universally larger — or even smaller, if for some reason you want that. Display size. This changes the actual scale of your phone to make  everything  bigger — kind of like the equivalent of adjusting the resolution on your computer. Magnification. This gives you an on-demand option for zooming into specific areas of your screen and making them larger, like viewing them through a magnifying glass. You can set it ...

Using a phone single-handedly is sometimes easier said than done — especially if you've got a larger device. But wait! There might be a better way: Android has a hidden option to create an extra bottom-of-screen menu that puts common commands in a more convenient place. Head back into the Accessibility section of your system settings, and this time, tap the line labeled "Accessibility Menu." Activate the toggle on the next screen that comes up, and you'll then see a nifty new little happy-dude icon (which may or may not be its official name) in the lower-right corner of your screen — to the right of the main Home button. JR Tap that dapper little fella, and you'll find your newly present on-demand menu — with options for things like pulling up your phone's power menu, capturing a screenshot with a fast tap, and even locking your device in a jiff. JR It's just handy enough to be worthwhile for the right sort of workflow.

Ever find yourself finishing a phone call while walking, performing an elaborate tango dance, or unicycling down a busy street? (Hey, I don't know what kind of crazy hijinks you get up to, you wild ol' wildebeest, you.) Even if you're just doing some ordinary on-the-go activity and want an easier way to disconnect without having to futz around on your screen, this next Android accessibility option could be just the thing for you. Open up the Accessibility section of your phone's settings and scroll down til you see "Power button ends call," beneath the "Interaction controls" header. Activate the toggle next to it, and that's it: You can now press your phone's physical power button anytime you want to hang up an ongoing call. Doesn't get much simpler than that.

Android has long had commendable systems for controlling your phone by voice, but a widely available accessibility service can take things even further and let you do  anything  on your phone simply by speaking a command. It's called Voice Access, and all you need to do is download Google's official Voice Access app to get it on your device and give it a whirl. When you first run the Voice Access app, it'll walk you through some quick initial setup stuff — granting the necessary permissions, turning on a few settings to make sure things work the way they should, and so on. Once it's up and running, Voice Access will show visible numbers next to every tappable function on your screen whenever it's active. JR You can then select any function by saying the number associated with it — which could certainly come in handy if your hands are busy, damp, covered in a suspiciously frothy blue foam, or whatever the case may be. But that's just the start of Voice Ac...