Google is testing a new “Camera Switch” option as part of the Switch Access feature of Android Accessibility Suite. First reported by XDA’s Mishaal Rahman, the new Camera Switch option is live on Android Accessibility Suite 12.0.0 beta that started rolling out with the fourth Android 12 beta. With this feature, you can control your Android phone with facial gestures, and we will teach you how to do that in this article.

Before we begin, I would like to clarify that the Switch Access feature is not limited to Android 12 phones. I sideloaded the latest beta version of Android Accessibility Suite on the ROG Phone 5 running Android 11, and it worked perfectly fine. If you don’t see the Camera Switch option, download the APK file from APKMirror or try updating Android Accessibility Suite from Play Store when it becomes widely available.

  • Set up Camera Switches Accessibility Service
  • Android 12 Accessibility Suite: Facial Gestures and Actions
  • How to Use Camera Switch Actions on Android

Set up Camera Switches Accessibility Service

  1. Open the Settings app and tap on ‘Accessibility’ to view accessibility settings. Under Interaction controls, tap on ‘Switch Access’.

  2. For instance, I have set up the ‘Smile’ gesture to open the Quick Settings panel. You can assign the gesture to other actions like going to the home screen, going back, and more. You can follow the same steps to set actions for other gestures (check the image below or the next section). If you change your mind, you can tap on ‘Edit assignment’ to reassign a gesture to a different action.

To quickly recap, here are all the possible facial gestures in Switch Access and the camera switch actions you can assign to them:

  • Open Mouth
  • Smile
  • Look Left
  • Raise Eyebrows
  • Look Right
  • Look Up

Camera Switch Actions

  • Pause Camera Switch
  • Auto-scan
  • Reverse auto-scan
  • Select
  • Next
  • Previous
  • Touch & hold
  • Scroll forward
  • Scroll backward
  • Home
  • Back
  • Notifications
  • Quick Settings
  • Overview

How to Use Camera Switch Actions on Android

Now that you have set up camera switches on our Android phone and know about all the possible face gestures and actions you can use it with, here’s a quick demonstration of the feature. In the GIF below, I have used the ‘Open Mouth’ gesture to go back to the home screen.

And here’s another example where I used the ‘Smile’ gesture to open the Quick Settings panel. While there are just demonstrations, you can mix & match actions and gestures to suit your preference.