Samsung's TalkBack AI Image Description Feature: Powered by Google's Gemini

This new Gemini feature won't be available on Samsung devices

To make Android more accessible to people with vision problems, Google created TalkBack, a screen reader service. Earlier today, the company announced an update to TalkBack that leverages its Gemini AI model to generate descriptions of images shown on screen. What Google didn't mention in its announcement is the fact that this feature won't be available on all Android devices -- namely, those from Samsung. TalkBack is part of the Android Accessibility Suite app, which is preloaded on most Android devices that bundle Google Mobile Services (GMS). However, it isn't preloaded on Samsung Galaxy devices that run One UI, Samsung's fork of Android. The reason why is because Samsung preloads its own suite of accessibility tools, which includes its own custom TalkBack service. Google lets OEMs skip out on preloading the Android Accessibility Suite so long as they include specific accessibility tools (like a screen reader) that meet certain criteria.

Google's new Gemini-powered TalkBack won't be coming to Samsung's One UI

ChatGPT may soon get eight new voices: Here's your first listen Google TalkBack is a fantastic feature built into Android that can provide those with visual impairments, an easier way to navigate menus and other areas seamlessly without having a clear view of the display. Of course, TalkBack is just the type of feature that would benefit from some AI, and Google has announced its plans to leverage the power of Gemini in order to bolster the feature and provide audio descriptions for images without the need for embedded alt text. Related How to turn on Samsung's TalkBack feature Operate your Galaxy device with touch and audio feedback As you can imagine, this is a huge deal, especially for folks that rely on the feature every day. With that said, this latest update to TalkBack is unfortunately not going to find its way to all Android devices. Most notably, it won't be found on any of Samsung's Galaxy devices, despite the brand offering its own version of TalkBack. This was confirmed by Android Authority, reporting that this is going to be the case for now since Samsung uses its own custom set of accessibility tools that's unrelated to the Android Accessibility Suite that's included with some devices by default. Will Samsung's TalkBack get an Galaxy AI update? Samsung has been making strides with AI since earlier this year when it unveiled Galaxy AI with the release of the Galaxy S24 series. Galaxy AI brings a wide range of interesting and useful features, like Circle to Search, Interpreter mode, Instant Slow-Mo, Generative Edit, and more. These and more features have slowly been rolled out to other Galaxy phones as well, like the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6. But it's unclear what the future holds when it comes to TalkBack on Galaxy for now. While Android's default experience is handled by Google, with updates through the Play Store, Samsung's version is handled by the brand itself, and the updates come through its own Galaxy Store. Those that want to try to install Google's Android Accessibility Suite on their Galaxy device to gain access will unfortunately be met with some disappointment, as it is apparently not even possible. Android Authority's Mishaal Rahman shares that "Samsung's TalkBack service overrides Google's" which means you won't be able to get both working on Galaxy smartphones. As far as why this is the case, Rahman hypothesizes that this is done in order to avoid having two different TalkBack versions in the Settings menu. So for now, the new TalkBack feature won't be found on any of Samsung's devices. But that doesn't mean that the brand can't update its own version to include image descriptions using AI in the future. But if you have a different device and want to give Google's new TalkBack feature a try, be sure to download the new Android Accessibility Suite update.