Get a First Look at Google’s Android TV 14 Beta Test with New Accessibility Options
Get a First Look at Google’s Android TV 14 Beta Test with New Accessibility Options
If you have a Chromecast or other device powered by Android TV, you may soon notice some new options for customizing your viewing experience. According to 9to5 Google, Android TV 14 is now entering the public beta testing phase, which means it will be available for the general public in the coming months.
The changes users will notice most will come in the form of new accessibility settings. For one thing, the menu placement of the accessibility setting itself has changed, and is no longer under the “System” tab. Accessibility is now a tab unto itself, becoming a top-level setting for the first time.

Text scaling, which was previously under the “Display and sound” setting is now listed under accessibility. Users will also find a new setting there, the “Bold text” option. This toggles all text across the Android TV system to a bold font, which in conjunction with the text scaling feature will be of great help to users with eyesight issues.

Users who have difficulty seeing certain colors will be aided by the new color correction settings on Android TV 14. It will still default to a red-green scale, but users can choose other options now, and can even decide to go with a grayscale if they wish.

In addition, Android TV 14 will enable audio descriptions of what’s going on on the screen for supported movies and shows. This feature will not work with all titles, but it will help sight-impaired individuals get a better sense of what’s happening on the screen in front of them.

No firm timeline has been given for when Android TV 14 will be available to the general public, but since it’s in beta testing it shouldn’t be much longer. Users of Android 14 will also want to check out the Live tab on the operating system, which now houses more than 800 free streaming channels from providers like Plex, Pluto TV and Tubi.
Android TV 14 will probably beat its rival operating system tvOS 17 to the market. With a much greater level of fanfare, Apple announced tvOS 17 would enter its developer beta phase very soon, in anticipation of a fall rollout. The new version of tvOS will include the ability to use Facetime on Apple TV devices.
