The Android operating system runs on billions of devices worldwide, which means it’s not just used by young, tech-savvy users, but by people of all demographics. Google, the company that develops Android, has created more accessibility options to ensure that their mobile operating system can be used by almost anyone. In the upcoming Android 15 release, which is expected to be released this fall, Google may add new “color contrast” settings to help users make apps easier to read.
Earlier today, Google released a new Android 14 beta called Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2.1. A hallmark of point releases like this are the many bug fixes they bring, and QPR3 Beta 2.1 is no different. However, QPR3 Beta 2.1 also surprisingly brings some new features, including a new high-quality mode for the Android webcam feature that was first seen in Android 15 Developer Preview 2. Under the hood, the QPR3 Beta 2.1 update also adds a hidden “color contrast” page settings that I managed to activate manually.
First, look at Android’s color contrast settings
This page allows the user to adjust the contrast of text, buttons and icons to make them stand out more in applications. Users can choose between “default”, “medium” or “high” contrast levels for colors, as well as toggle “maximize text contrast” to “add black or white background around text to increase contrast”. The page also includes a mockup app to preview these toggles, though users should be aware that “some apps may not support all color and text contrast settings.”
Here is an image gallery showing different color contrast settings in light and dark modes.
Namely, Google used to be saw I’m working on a “contrast level” slider in the preview builds of Android 14. At the time, I discovered that this slider would work with apps that use Google’s material component library to enable Material You theming. The purpose of the slider is to adjust the tone (brightness) of background colors so that they are closer to their background as contrast decreases, and further away as contrast increases. The slider was moved under Android Developer Options in the first beta of Android 14, where it remains today.
When will color contrast settings arrive for Android?
This new “color contrast” settings page is likely a user-facing version of the “contrast level” slider seen in the previous release, but with the addition of the “high contrast text” option currently found in Android’s screen size and text settings. However, as I said before, the “color contrast” page is currently not visible in the latest release of QPR3 Beta 2.1. Once it becomes active in a future update, it should appear under Settings > Accessibility > Color & Motion. This page is likely to be added as part of this year’s Android 15 update, which is poised to introduce other UI-related changes, such as a revamped volume rocker.