Android and Wear OS devices are getting these 5 new features

Google announced several new features for Android users on Tuesday. A total of five new features are being added to existing Android tools like TalkBack and Circle to Search. Google Chrome is also getting a new text-to-speech feature that makes it easy for users to listen to articles and web pages. Offline Google Maps is also being added to supported Wear OS devices. Finally, the Android Earthquake Alerts System is being expanded to a wider user base in the US.

New Android features announced

The Mountain View-based tech giant detailed the new Android features in a blog post after. Interestingly, these features aren’t limited to Pixel users and all supported Android devices will get them. Google has started rolling out these features, but it may take up to 14 days for all users to receive them.

TalkBack, the screen reader feature in Android, is getting a significant upgrade. The accessibility feature is intended for people with low vision or blindness. The feature is now powered by Gemini, Google’s in-house artificial intelligence (AI) model. With the Gemini integration, the feature can provide detailed audio descriptions of digital images, photos in the gallery, images in text messages or social media posts, the company said.

Last month, a report claimed that Google was testing a music search feature for Circle to Search. The tech giant has now confirmed the feature. Users with Android devices that support the visual lookup feature will be able to identify songs and music playing on the device or nearby. Users can activate the feature and tap the music button to identify the track name and artist, and open a YouTube video.

Google Chrome is also getting a text-to-speech feature that will allow Android users to listen to web pages within the browser. This way, users can listen to news articles, blog posts and more. There are options to choose the listening speed, voice type and language.

Google previously rolled out the Android Earthquake Alerts System in beta to select users. The feature sends earthquake alerts to users based on crowd-sourced detection technology. The feature is now rolling out to all users in the US. It is still not available for users in regions outside the US.

Finally, the company is also rolling out a feature for Wear OS smartwatches. Users with supported OS can download offline Google Maps on the device. This way, even without a smartphone, they can view the map on the smartwatch. Further, when the device is online, users can also search for their destination using voice commands and view their current location with a single tap on the watch face.