How to Activate and Customize the Speak Keyboard Input Aloud Feature on Samsung One UI

The “Speak Keyboard Input Aloud” feature in Samsung One UI, available exclusively with the Samsung keyboard, speaks inputted characters, words, or both while typing. Although this feature is not intended for screen reader users—evidenced by the fact that it cannot be toggled or customized while TalkBack is running—it may still be useful for those seeking a typing experience similar to iOS’s “Direct Touch Typing”. Currently, TalkBack lacks comparable functionality, and Jieshuo’s typing while browse by touch is suspended is no longer compatible with newer versions of Gboard or other popular keyboards.

How to Activate and Customize Speak Keyboard Input Aloud

To access the feature and its settings:

1. Open your device’s Settings.
2. Navigate to Accessibility and activate Vision Enhancements.
3. Among the options available in this section, you’ll find Speak Keyboard Input Aloud. Tapping on it will allow you to change its related settings. Next to it, there is a toggle to switch the feature on or off. You can also toggle the feature on or off directly from its settings menu.

Note: Samsung Keyboard must be set as the default input method to toggle this feature or change its settings.

When TalkBack is turned on, you’ll hear a message indicating that the feature is disabled because TalkBack is running. You won’t be able to open its settings or change its state while TalkBack is active. However, if you’re using Jieshuo, this restriction does not apply unless the Jieshuo Helper Service (commonly referred to as the TalkBack spoofer) is enabled. In this case, Jieshuo will be treated as if TalkBack is running, and the restriction will be enforced.

For TalkBack users with Jieshuo on their devices, things are simple. You can unload TalkBack and use Jieshuo to toggle the feature or access its settings. After opening the settings window, you can switch off Jieshuo and return to using TalkBack. The only limitation is that the toggle inside the settings window that switches the feature on or off will be disabled after TalkBack is restarted.

For TalkBack users who don’t use Jieshuo, the only method to activate the service and open its settings is to unload TalkBack. This can be done with sighted assistance if available, or by attempting to locate the toggle’s position on the screen, then unloading TalkBack using a pre-assigned shortcut, tapping the position of the toggle, and re-enabling TalkBack. The same approach applies to the feature’s settings screen. Success mainly depends on the user’s ability to accurately tap the correct positions on the screen, which can be challenging and may require several attempts.

Customization Options

Once you’ve tapped Speak Keyboard Input Aloud using any of the previously mentioned methods, you can customize the following settings:

• What to Read: Choose to have it read characters only, words only, or both characters and words.
• Capital Letters: Options include “Do Nothing” (ignores uppercase letters), “Say Capital,” “Change Pitch” (announces capital letters at a different pitch), or “Play Sound” (plays a sound to indicate a typed character is in uppercase). Note that you can only choose one option at a time, such as playing a sound or saying “capital,” but not both simultaneously.
• Read Deleted Characters Aloud: A toggle that specifies whether deleted characters are also announced.
• Phonetic Alphabet: This option speaks the phonetic word that represents each letter, such as saying “Hotel” for “H.”

Note: When using Jieshuo, the state of selected options won’t be read aloud, nor will the names of the toggles inside the settings window. However, tapping the option or toggle will still activate it, even if this is not announced or reflected while navigating. This issue is not present with TalkBack, where selected options are marked with the word “selected” and toggle labels are properly announced.

Using the Feature

To use the read-aloud feature after activating it, you must unload TalkBack or the Jieshuo Helper Service if you’re using it, after the keyboard is displayed, and then start typing. If you’re using Jieshuo’s main service, it is recommended to suspend “Browse by Touch” or disable the echoing of characters, words, or both in Typing settings to avoid conflicts between Jieshuo’s own announcements and the read-aloud feature.

Notes:

1. The read-aloud feature uses the system’s TTS engine, speech rate, and media volume.
2. It’s observed that when both characters and words are selected to be read aloud, after tapping the space key, the word is read followed by the space key on some devices. On others, only the word is spoken, with the space announcement completely ignored. You should test and see how the behavior is on your device.
3. For users who are accustomed to direct touch typing and are aware of key positions, this feature should yield better results compared to using TalkBack’s normal typing method. However, responsiveness may vary between devices. It’s important to remember that when the screen reader is unloaded or “Browse by Touch” is disabled, you should be cautious not to activate items unintentionally, as you’ll be using your device in a manner similar to sighted users.
4. You can go to Accessibility Settings > Advanced Settings and assign a shortcut to toggle the feature on or off. This may simplify activation for TalkBack users, allowing them to turn off TalkBack and then use the assigned shortcut to enable the feature. This is sufficient for users who wish to stay on the default settings without further customization.
5. All tests were conducted on Samsung phones running One UI 6.1.

Audio Demonstration