Google included a few helpful accessibility features for physical keyboards with Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2, including bounce and sticky keys. These features were introduced to the operating system. There has been a progressive improvement in Android’s support for physical keyboards, and Google is working to strengthen the platform’s desktop credentials regardless of the device’s size (smartphone, tablet, foldable, etc.). It is necessary to have enough support for physical keyboards in order to accomplish this objective, and Google is continuing to work toward this objective by introducing a new slow keys option in the second Android 15 developer preview.
As part of his article for Android Authority, Android specialist Mishaal Rahman provides us with a sneak peek at the recently introduced Slow keys option, which can be found in the Accessibility section of the Settings menu, under System, under Keyboard, and under Physical keyboard. In his lengthy Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2 deep dive earlier this month, Rahman discovered the Slow keys option. He properly predicted at the time that the toggle may become live in an upcoming Android version. It is important to note that Rahman discovered the option.
The incorporation of these keyboards is a part of Google’s aim to strengthen Android’s credentials as a legitimate challenger to established desktop operating systems such as Windows, which has been providing similar alternatives for some time now.
In the event that you are not familiar with it, the bounce keys toggle instructs the system to disregard consecutive keystrokes that include the same alphabet or character. Sticky keys are important because they allow the system to keep a pair of buttons pushed down for a while. This is especially helpful when utilizing modifier keys like Shift, Ctrl, or Alt in conjunction with other keys.
In the meanwhile, the Slow keys option that has just appeared gives the user the ability to choose the amount of time that the key must be pushed before Android will acknowledge it. When the Slow keys option is turned on, according to Rahman, pushing the Windows button on a physical keyboard that is attached to the device for a period of one and a half seconds would bring the user back to the Android home screen.
The Android 15 DP2 operating system does not currently have the capability to allow users to modify the length of time that they press a key when Slow keys are enabled. However, after doing an investigation into the code of the most current developer preview, Rahman discovered that Google might let this specific accessibility function to take up to five seconds.
Android 15 DP2 has capabilities to examine the layout of the keyboard
Additionally, Rahman discovered new on-screen previews for physical keyboards inside Android 15 DP2, which may be seen in the image above. These previews provide customers with a brief peek of the layout that has been selected, which enables them to acclimate to the change in a more expedient manner. In the event that you are obliged to deal with numerous keyboard layouts as part of your profession or education, this can be of assistance to you. It is presently unknown if Google will deliver these new improvements relating to the physical keyboard with Android 15 later this year or with the June Pixel Feature Drop, also known as Android 14 QPR3.
