Bug with talk back on Samsung devices

Hello,
Is a One UI or an Android update going to replace Talkback?

Any phone that is capable of running OneUI 9 (S23 and higher) will get Talkback from the play store, as it use to be before Android 11.

All other S-line phones (or any Samsung phone that is not capable of running OneUI 9 will be permanently stuck on Talkback 16.2 from the Galaxy Store.

The bug is indeed worse, on a galaxy a16.

It still happens some times but not as much, i don't really do a hole lot of editing on my phone, just using the proofreading feature to correct spelling and stuff

I just thought I’d come on here just to say that reading this is making me definitely not want to switch. You’re having the same kind of issues that we’re having with iPhones where some people will have some really crazy bug and some people will barely have it and some people don’t have it at all. It seems to be no different so good luck to everybody. We’re all just dealing with big software companies and bugs and it’s all the same on both sides of the operating system world.

I was so close to ordering a Samsung S26+ a couple of months back. Then this thread popped up, and I held off on it. I was hoping to hear good news about One UI 9, but it looks like this bug is still persisting.
By the time I switch both carrier and smart device), I'll likely just end up going with a Pixel Pro device. Those XL models sound like they might meet my needs quite handily. 🤔

Subject says it all. Talk forward updates have slowed down a bit but it's still alive and well. Not free of bugs but nothing major, and I'm quite happy with it. Ya know, it's crazy, because before Talk Forward, I'd gotten used to the lag with Talkback, and it genuinely didn't bother me. But about a week ago, I switched back to Talkback, just to see, as I was also wondering if Talk Forward was going to continue, so figured I'd jump back to Talkback just to give myself a refresher. I lasted about 12 hours, then turned Talk Forward back on.

I'm not using a galaxy device just to purpose. One issue that I do have and I'm not sure how to fix it. There will be a time where I'm either browsing by character or word in a text field and it won't repeat it even though I have all the character and words settings, turned on, or when I'm in an app like Facebook or Instagram it will say selection cleared selection. Cleared selection cleared every time I go through a character or word that I have typed after a few characters/words and it is very annoying. If anyone knows how to fix this that would be brilliant. I might install talk forward and see if that fixes it but.

That issue usually comes up when using a program like Messenger from Meta, and it’s something they’ll need to fix on their own side sadly.

As folks will see among thy latest post within the Talk Forward thread, a lot has been definitely fixed and added. In fact, the latest update was last Sunday!)

And I'm still waiting for OneUI 9 on my S23 Plus to arrive.

Hey guys, well, my feedback on this isn’t great.

I was using a Samsung S26 for a while and experiencing this bug quite a lot. I then tested a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 for about two weeks because it had One UI 9, and unfortunately, I was still experiencing the same bug.

To be completely fair, I’m not 100% sure whether I had Google TalkBack installed or Samsung’s version. It had One UI 9, and the TalkBack settings redirected me to the Play Store and Google Accessibility Support, so I think it was Google TalkBack, but I can’t say that for sure.

I returned the Z Fold because I was only testing it to see how things compared with One UI 8.5 on my S26. I’m also trading in my S26, so I’m giving up on Samsung for a while.

I’ve already reported the bug to Google’s Accessibility Team, so hopefully it gets fixed soon. I’m sure other third party screen readers work just fine, but I can’t use them because I use my phone for work.

So for now, I’m sticking with my iPhone because I need to be able to type long chunks of text reliably. Maybe in a few months I’ll see how things are and give the Pixel another try, but for now, I’m taking a break from Samsung.

Unless it's pre-S 22 era. samsung and both their hardware and software has just absolutely fallen down the drain! I've heard a lot of stories. Issues with the displays, some people having camera issues, some motherboards straight up dying! Not being able to unlock the boot loader, pretty sure this was an issue in like one UI 8.5 or newer, maybe even earlier, and all around just shitty accessibility in general. I'm personally in the camp of Google Pixel, nothing, Motorola and Opo. In fact I bought a Google Pixel two for $75 just so I could flash lineage OS on it and goddamn the experience is as good as it can be on a nine-year-old phone with a battery that has probably seen worse than any other android device. I have probably ever used the battery. Life is absolutely diabolical, but the experience is really good. Besides Google services not really working but that's a whole another issue.

It's disappointing that even with Samsung switching back to Google's own version of talk back it's still really disappointing that some users are having to put up with half baked accessibility. Just goes to show how much they care even when their own accessibility service isn't as controlled by them anymore. Sad, very sad.

"It's really unfortunate Samsung devices still have this issue even though some already have the new One UI 9 update.
A few weeks ago, I was close to buying a Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus since it was on a good discount here in the US for around $800. The only reason I considered it was because I'm eagerly waiting for Android XR glasses to launch, and I figured having a Samsung would offer better ecosystem integration—even without knowing for sure or having the glasses yet.
Thank goodness I didn't buy it, because I really can't see myself putting up with this kind of accessibility issue besides, it's not like I love Samsung devices anyway, and I love my Pixel.

Said this before, but I was on the verge of buying the S26+ as well, but I feel like I dodged a bullet here. I use my phone a lot and the really real world, and would hate for the screen reader to just stop working on me, even if it was for five seconds, while I was navigating my city. Android has come a very long way with their AI capabilities and integration. Honestly, I don't know what Apple is doing here, but Androids AI capabilities are insane.
I have pretty much given up on Samsung at this point, I will likely just go with a Pixel Pro device, but I'm hesitant to get the latest one. Might just go with a Pro nine or Pro 10 model, and call it good. 🤷

Pixel 9 if you require using hardware SIM cards, and you want a purple or pink phone.
Pixel 10 if you want Pixel Snap (Magsafe) on the back of your phone and don't mind using ESIM.
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