Talkback Issues With Chinese On Samsung Flutter

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Talkback Doesn't Read Chinese Properly on Samsung Devices with Flutter Apps

Hey everyone! πŸ‘‹ Ever encountered a frustrating issue where Talkback, the Android screen reader, just isn't behaving as expected when you switch your Flutter app to Chinese on a Samsung device? Well, you're not alone. I've been wrestling with this problem, and it seems like there's a specific hiccup with how the Samsung text-to-speech engine handles Chinese localization. Let's dive in and see what's going on and what you can do about it. This article is all about helping you understand and potentially fix the Talkback issues you may have encountered.

The Problem: Talkback and Chinese Text on Samsung

The Situation: You've built a fantastic Flutter app, localized it for Chinese speakers, and are ready to make it accessible using Talkback. You switch the language, expecting a seamless experience, but then... things go south. Instead of hearing the correct Chinese pronunciations, Talkback might read text in English, skip content, or even announce the names of the UI elements instead of the actual text. This can be super frustrating for users who rely on Talkback to navigate your app.

Root Cause: The primary culprit appears to be the Samsung text-to-speech engine. While it should be handling Chinese text, there seems to be a compatibility issue that causes the mispronunciation or even the complete failure to read the content. When switching to the 'Speech Recognition and Synthesis from Google' engine, the output improved, reading Chinese text, but still added component names after each text segment, unlike the experience on devices like Pixel or iOS devices.

Tested Devices: I've confirmed this behavior on several Samsung devices, including an A03 (Android 12), an S10+ (Android 12), and an S23 (Android 16). The results were consistent across all these devices, indicating a broader problem within the Samsung ecosystem.

Steps to Reproduce the Issue

Alright, let's break down exactly how you can reproduce this problem so you can see it for yourself.

  1. Get the App: Make sure you have the latest version of your Flutter app. You can grab it from your usual source (Google Play Store, TestFlight, etc.).
  2. Enable Talkback: Go to your Android device's settings. Look for the 'Accessibility' options and turn on 'Talkback'. You might need to give it permission to access your device.
  3. Navigate in English: Launch your app. Use Talkback to navigate through the app with the app's default English language setting. Notice how Talkback correctly reads out the text and describes the UI elements.
  4. Change to Chinese: Go into your app's settings (or your device settings) and change the language to Chinese. The app should reload or update its text to reflect the Chinese localization.
  5. Test Chinese Navigation: Now, use Talkback to navigate through the app again. This is where you'll likely see the problem – the Chinese text might be read in English, be skipped entirely, or be mispronounced.

Expected vs. Actual Results

What You'd Expect: The localized Chinese text to be read properly. Talkback should smoothly read the content in Chinese, providing a seamless experience for Chinese-speaking users.

What Happens Instead: The text gets read in English, and in some cases, the components names are read instead. The experience is not good at all.

Possible Solutions and Workarounds

While the root cause seems to lie within the Samsung text-to-speech engine, there are a few things you might try to mitigate the issue. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but here are some options to consider:

  1. Suggest a Different TTS Engine: You could guide your users to change the default Text-to-Speech engine in their device settings. The 'Speech Recognition and Synthesis from Google' engine tends to work better in this scenario. This might be a viable workaround for users experiencing this issue.
  2. Verify Language Settings: Make sure you've correctly set up the language codes in your Flutter app to correspond to Chinese (e.g., zh-CN for Simplified Chinese, zh-TW for Traditional Chinese). Sometimes, incorrect language settings can cause the text-to-speech engine to misinterpret the language.
  3. Use a Third-Party TTS Plugin: Investigate using a third-party text-to-speech plugin specifically designed for Flutter that offers better support for Chinese. Some plugins might provide more control over the TTS engine or offer specific language packs.
  4. Report the Issue: If possible, report the problem to Samsung. The more users report it, the more likely they are to acknowledge and fix it. You can also report it to Google since the issue is on their Android platform and may need a unified solution.
  5. Accessibility Testing: Thoroughly test your app's accessibility features on various Android devices, including Samsung models. This will help you catch any potential issues early and allow you to develop workarounds or report bugs to the device manufacturer.

Code Sample Considerations

Since this issue relates to how the Samsung TTS engine interacts with the app, the code sample mostly involves the basic setup of localization and accessibility features within Flutter.

// Example: Setting up localization in your Flutter app
import 'package:flutter_localizations/flutter_localizations.dart';

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      localizationsDelegates: [
        GlobalMaterialLocalizations.delegate,
        GlobalWidgetsLocalizations.delegate,
        GlobalCupertinoLocalizations.delegate,
        // Add your custom localization delegate here
      ],
      supportedLocales: [
        const Locale('en', 'US'), // English
        const Locale('zh', 'CN'), // Chinese
        // Add other supported locales
      ],
      locale: const Locale('zh', 'CN'), // Set the app's default locale to Chinese
      home: MyHomePage(),
    );
  }
}

In your app, ensure that you correctly use the Text widgets and provide the right labels for accessibility, such as using the semanticsLabel or label properties. Correctly set up localization, including language codes, so that the TTS engine knows what language to read.

Screenshots and Videos

Here are some visual aids to help illustrate the problem:

  • Video Demonstrations: The provided videos show the issue in action. You can see how Talkback mispronounces or skips Chinese text on Samsung devices. These will help you to visualize the problem.

Flutter Doctor Output

Here's the output from flutter doctor which can provide you with details of the Flutter and Android environment setup. This information is valuable when debugging environment-related issues.

[βœ“] Flutter (Channel stable, 3.38.4, on macOS 26.2 25C56 darwin-arm64, locale en-US) [756ms]
    β€’ Flutter version 3.38.4 on channel stable at /Users/deanli/dev/stable
    β€’ Upstream repository https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git
    β€’ Framework revision 66dd93f9a2 (33 hours ago), 2025-12-03 14:56:10 -0800
    β€’ Engine revision a5cb96369e
    β€’ Dart version 3.10.3
    β€’ DevTools version 2.51.1
    β€’ Feature flags: enable-web, enable-linux-desktop, enable-macos-desktop, enable-windows-desktop, enable-android, enable-ios, cli-animations, enable-native-assets, omit-legacy-version-file, enable-lldb-debugging, enable-uiscene-migration

[βœ“] Android toolchain - develop for Android devices (Android SDK version 36.1.0) [6.5s]
    β€’ Android SDK at /Users/deanli/Library/Android/sdk
    β€’ Emulator version 36.3.9.0 (build_id 14404213) (CL:N/A)
    β€’ Platform android-36.1, build-tools 36.1.0
    β€’ Java binary at: /Applications/Android Studio.app/Contents/jbr/Contents/Home/bin/java
      This is the JDK bundled with the latest Android Studio installation on this machine.
      To manually set the JDK path, use: `flutter config --jdk-dir="path/to/jdk"`.
    β€’ Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 21.0.8+-14196175-b1038.72)
    β€’ All Android licenses accepted.

[βœ“] Xcode - develop for iOS and macOS (Xcode 26.2) [1,632ms]
    β€’ Xcode at /Applications/Xcode-26.2.0-release-candidate.app/Contents/Developer
    β€’ Build 17C48
    β€’ CocoaPods version 1.16.2

[βœ“] Chrome - develop for the web [5ms]
    β€’ Chrome at /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome

[βœ“] Connected device (6 available) [7.4s]
    β€’ SM A035F (mobile)                     β€’ R9ZT902JTGA               β€’ android-arm64  β€’ Android 12 (API 31)
    β€’ iPhone 16 Pro Max (wireless) (mobile) β€’ 00008140-00194CC23A68801C β€’ ios            β€’ iOS 26.2 23C52
    β€’ Nexus (wireless) (mobile)             β€’ 00008020-001875E83A38002E β€’ ios            β€’ iOS 18.7.2 22H124
    β€’ Dean iPad (wireless) (mobile)         β€’ 00008103-000825C811E3401E β€’ ios            β€’ iOS 26.2 23C52
    β€’ macOS (desktop)                       β€’ macos                     β€’ darwin-arm64   β€’ macOS 26.2 25C56 darwin-arm64
    β€’ Chrome (web)                          β€’ chrome                    β€’ web-javascript β€’ Google Chrome 143.0.7499.40

[βœ“] Network resources [763ms]
    β€’ All expected network resources are available.

β€’ No issues found!

Conclusion: Navigating Accessibility with Flutter and Samsung

So, there you have it, guys. The issue with Talkback and Chinese text on Samsung devices is a real pain, but understanding the problem is the first step toward finding a solution. It's frustrating when accessibility features don't work the way they should, but by testing, reporting, and exploring potential workarounds, we can help ensure that our apps are inclusive for everyone.

Remember, the best approach often involves a combination of strategies: ensuring correct language settings, guiding users to alternative TTS engines, and reporting any issues to Samsung so they can be fixed. Together, we can make our Flutter apps accessible to all users, regardless of their device or language!

I hope this helps! If you've found any additional workarounds or solutions, share them in the comments below! Let's help each other out!