Modern Pixel phones ship with a whole host of accessibility tools tucked away within their main Settings application, most of which go underutilized or underappreciated by the majority of users. Accessibility features are incredibly helpful for a myriad of reasons, making using a Pixel a more pleasant and streamlined experience on the whole.
With this in mind, here are four accessibility features within Google’s Pixel phone lineup that I always turn on from day one and that I make use of regularly. Some of these settings offer small-yet-appreciated functionality enhancements, while others change the way I interact with the device at an overarching level.
- Brand
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Google
- SoC
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Google Tensor G6
- Battery
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4750 mAh
- Ports
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USB-C 3.2
- Operating System
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Android 17
- Dimensions
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6.1 in (height) x 3.0 in (width) x 0.4 in (depth) folded; 6.1 in (height) x 5.9 in (width) x 0.2 in (depth) unfolded
The Pixel 11 Pro Fold is Google’s latest-and-greatest book-style foldable smartphone, with the Tensor G6 processor, a triple rear-camera setup, and a new HiLight LED function.
Flash notifications
Never miss an incoming alert again
I miss the days when phone makers included dedicated notification LEDs for keeping track of incoming messages and missed calls. While it’s true that Google has brought back the notification light on the Pixel 11 series in the form of HiLight, this solution simply isn’t flexible enough to replace legacy implementations of the feature.
Thankfully, Android itself features a Flash notifications feature within Accessibility Settings, which can light up your screen in one of several colors and also flash your LED module whenever you receive an incoming notification. As a way to stay on top of new alerts and the like, Flash notifications is an ideal solution.
To enable flash notifications, follow these steps:
- Launch Settings.
- Navigate to Accessibility > Audio > Flash notifications.
- From here, toggle on Camera flash and/or Screen flash.
Sound notifications
Get notified of important sounds
Most Pixel users are familiar with Now Playing, which automatically detects ambient music and surfaces track and artist details on your lock screen in a similar fashion to Shazam. Lesser known is that you can also enable Sound Notifications from within Accessibility Settings, which notifies you of smoke alarm beeps, baby sounds, dog barking, doorbell rings, and a variety of other sound types.
To enable Sound Notifications on your Pixel, follow these steps:
- Launch the Settings application.
- Navigate to Accessibility > Audio > Sound Notifications.
- From here, tap or click on Open Sound Notifications and then toggle the feature on.
Control your phone in a convenient way
AssistiveTouch is a well-known iPhone accessibility feature that adds a virtual button to your home screen, unlocking quick access to a variety of system functions. Over on the Android side of things, a similar feature exists, and it’s known as Accessibility Menu. The feature creates a shortcut to a large on-screen menu for adjusting various controls, and it can come in handy for quicker access to screenshotting, brightness adjustments, and more.
To enable Accessibility Menu on your Pixel, follow these steps:
- Launch Settings.
- Navigate to Accessibility > Interaction controls > Accessibility Menu.
- From here, Toggle on Accessibility Menu shortcut from within Options.
Live Caption
Auto generate captions on the fly
Live Caption is an incredibly useful accessibility tool that comes standard across all Google Pixel phones. The feature automatically generates captions across all videos being played back on the device, as well as during phone calls. There are a variety of customization options for Live Caption to adjust the way it functions and how it presents itself on screen, which is appreciated from a flexibility standpoint.
To enable Live Caption on your Pixel device, follow these steps:
- Launch Settings.
- Navigate to Accessibility > Captions > Live Caption.
- Toggle on Use Live Caption.
