Talkback What's New! (17.1)

By Trenton Matthews, 20 October, 2026

Forum
Android

This release of Talkback 17.1 (Accessible Android) to me is mixed. The main ones being:

  • You can now select text on web pages! (If you like using Chrome.)
  • You can now switch voices easier! (If you're a Google TTS user.)

I'm not surprised by this though... Google screen reader, favoring "Made by Google" software.

Thus, Prudence & Jieshuo are the only screen readers at this time which let you append to the clipboard, in addition to their virtual OCR features working with sighted games.

And with that, enjoy!

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Comments

By ziixies on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 - 00:57

welp, time to bring out the good old pixle 2 then, im not using google tts on my oppo, it's very slow on my oppo but for whatever reason is pretty fast on my google phone running lineyage OS 22.2 android 15

By mario_hardrock on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 - 02:03

Trenton said

• Now you can select text on web pages! (If you like using Chrome.)

: I think you're wrong. That was the very first thing I tested on the web and in Chrome. Text outside of editable fields is still not selectable.
If I’m wrong, then explain to us how to do it...
Cheers.

This feature works, which I can confirm since I use a Google Pixel device without any issues.
While some people report in various sources that it doesn't work, that is likely because they use a device from a different manufacturer, even though they never mention it.
Text selection improvements
Text selection with TalkBack is now possible outside of edit fields on web pages.
to perform text selection:
Double tap and hold with 2 fingers to enter selection.
then
swipe with 3 fingers left, right or up down,
to choose granularity, characters, words or lines etc
then
swipes up or down to select the text.
then
swipe with 3 fingers left, right or up down, until find actions option
and finally
swipes up or down and you will find few options, copy, select all, end selection, jump to star the selection, read selected text
and double tap to select the option that you want.

I just tested, in the comment you wrote and I was able to select and copy the text perfectly.

Thanks for the feedback, my friend.

Yes, that’s right—I use a Galaxy S24 Ultra.
I can hardly believe this...
Google continues to discriminate blind users outside of its own ecosystem...
I’ve been waiting for this feature for a long time, and now that it’s finally here, Google isn’t making it universally available.
Even when using Google Chrome...
I'm shocked with this.
google you should be ashamed of yourself...
I left Apple due to this type of behavior, and due to a lack of resolution of problems with voice over, and now I face the same thing with Google.
How can this be possible!
I don't even know what else to say...
I'll wait for feedback from people who use devices outside of Google's eco system and hear what they have to say here on the forum...
thanks.
cheers.

thank you Trenton.
Sorry friend, I didn't realize that you had left the link to the androidaccessible article.
I already read it, and I was even more disappointed...
What a shame, Google.
I'm going to have to start thinking about using third-party screen readers. maybe talk forward.
cheers.

By ziixies on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 - 05:56

No idea how to do it. I guess I'll figure it out. I'm not really one for selecting text, though, usually I'd strate copy it. But I guess this will be helpful. Maybe I might also install this on my old Google Pixel two running lineage OS 22.2 and use the new Google TTS voices as my oppo is running eloquence.

By MarkSarch on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 - 13:03

I personally don't pay much attention to what's heard outside in different sources.
Note: I am not discrediting the work of people who invest in writing articles to inform others; however, I must point out that the experience is very different from one individual to another, so what works well for me might not work for someone else at all.
Both of us are right and telling the truth; perhaps what we disagree on is that we aren't living in the same region nor are we using the same device.

On one hand, I can say that Google's accessibility team is doing a good job making many features that work on Pixel devices, and on the other hand, I feel bad because many of those features don't work across different phone manufacturers; looking at it this way, these are two very different points of view.

Nah, you're good.

I mostly use Talk Forward on my S23+ over Talkback most of the time anyways, (which I just got OneUI 9 for it yesterday!)

By mario_hardrock on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 - 20:09

Today I updated to Samsung One UI 9, and now TalkBack can select text on the web.
now it works...
I suspect it might have something to do with that TalkBack restriction/Samsung block...
On the other hand, I’ve lost the "Guided Vision" shortcut in the TalkBack menu—it’s simply vanished.
Anyway, I’m going to install and test TalkForward to see how it works.
Cheers.

Hi Roman,

Please avoid platform comparisons in the non-Apple forums unless that is the specific topic of the original post. We want our non-Apple forums to be a place where users of the platform can discuss it with each other, and unsolicited platform comparisons (like comparing Android to iOS in the Android Forum) often detracts from that.

Thanks,

Michael

By MarkSarch on Thursday, October 22, 2026 - 12:38

The Guided Vision option has been removed from TalkBack menu, which I heard from people involved in TalkBack beta versions who report that Google accessibility team is working on a quick solution.