Google adds Braille keyboard to Android

Google announces a new feature for TalkBack: a virtual Braille keyboard it adds to Android that should help users type in Braille without connecting peripherals.

Some Braille keyboards were already available for download as an app for Android, but Google is now integrating such a keyboard into Android itself. The feature will be part of TalkBack, the Android screen reader. The Braille keyboard offers a standard layout of six circles, which users can touch to type letters and symbols in Braille.

Users can also delete letters and words and add new lines. To use the Braille keyboard, TalkBack must be activated. This can be done through the accessibility options or by holding down both volume keys for three seconds.

Google is making the feature available in English starting today on devices running Android 5.0 or later. The keyboard works with all apps. There are special braille screens or braille reading rules for blind and partially sighted people who want to read text on a screen with their fingers.