Accessibility Features of the Galaxy Note 4

Galaxy Note 4 is out and we cannot get enough of it. From unboxing and drop and durability tests to hands-on demos and main features, we’ve shown you quite a lot about the Galaxy Note 4, but there is plenty more that we want to share. In this article, we would like to go over some of the accessibility features of the Galaxy Note 4.

Just to provide you with some background, with its big screen and S Pen, the Galaxy Note series has been preferred by many people with hearing impairments. For example, S Pen and S Note are recognized as  providing  effective assistance in communication among those in  hearing impaired communities. (※reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv7SdJDPXbE )

Now, the Galaxy Note 4’s front-facing camera with f1.9 offers a default 90 degree shooting angle and up to 120 degree wide angle, which allows for better video calling because it can show sign language better, even in darker indoor environments.

The ‘Doorbell Detector’ feature of the Galaxy Note 4 can recognize/detect the sound of a doorbell (once it is recorded on the device) or baby crying and notify the user with vibration or light. Users can get these notifications on their Gear devices as well.

Galaxy Note 4 also features the ‘Hover Zoom’ for the visually impaired, which lets users magnify content by hovering their finger or pen over it. If you place the S Pen in certain areas, users can see the ‘magnifier’ which allows the users to zoom in to a specific part of the display in the ratio they want. Previously, on the home screen, you had to magnify the whole content and then move the screen around to view the content, but with the Galaxy Note 4, you can magnify selected parts.

Galaxy Note 4 offers various accessibility features for camera and gallery.

For example, the ‘Image Reader’ feature gives users a voice guide of the file type, date, location, weather, category, who (subject) of the image file. When taking photos, the ‘Voice guide’ feature detect the number of people (subject) and location on the photo and guides the users to take better photos. (this feature has been available since the Galaxy Core)

With the Galaxy S5 Samsung has categorized devices’ accessibility features based on user needs, aiming to highlight specific features of interest.

– ‘TalkBack’ reads back which option user has selected

– ‘Dark Screen’ helps protect visually impaired users’ privacy by allowing them to use some features of the smartphone even when the display is turned off.

– Users can also zoom in to the screen when they tap on the screen three consecutive times.

– Users can set to receive alerts for unchecked notification until they check it.

Moreover, users can not only activate ‘negative’ colors for certain screens for better readability, they can also customize or adjust the overall color layout of the screen.

‘Auto Haptic’ of the Galaxy Note 4 can also convert ‘media sound’ into a vibration. Users can use ‘Turn off all sounds’ features to turn off all sounds of the Galaxy Note 4 at once so that they can concentrate on the surrounding sounds.

Galaxy Note 4 also features a ‘Air Wake up’, which allows users to turn on the device simply by placing their hands above the sensor.

The ‘Direct Access’ lets users directly access the accessibility features by clicking the home button 3 times.

The Assistant Menu lets users set certain difficult gestures into a simple touch option.

By now, you are probably familiar with the fact that many Samsung devices have various accessibility features. Galaxy Note 4 is a lifestyle device that will help all users enjoy their daily life more fun and conveniently. We are planning to tell you more about the specifics of the Galaxy Note 4 in the near future so stay tuned. Or you can leave us a comment about what you want to know more about the Galaxy Note 4. Thanks!