Apple to introduce new accessibility tools to assist people with disabilities
By Mark Pader
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Apple is set to celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) by announcing a new set of accessibility tools to aid people with disabilities. The new accessibility tools are set to be introduced later this year. It aims to assist a diverse range of users including people visual and hearing impairments, and people with physical and motor disabilities.
The new accessibility features will be available across all Apple platforms which include the following:
- Door Detection: A navigation tool which aims to assist people with a visual impairment. The tool uses the Apple device’s camera to identify doors when a user arrives at a destination. The new feature provides information to the user on how far they are from the door. It also describes the attributes of the door like if the door is open or closed, and how the door can be opened. The feature can also read signs and symbols such as door numbers and accessible entrance symbols.
- Apple watch mirroring: This new tool allows the Apple Watch to be paired with the iPhone to enable users to control the watch by using Voice Control or Switch control on their iPhone. The aim of this tool is to allow users with physical and motor disabilities to use the health-supporting tools provided by the smartwatch including Blood Oxygen.
- Live Captions: Live captioning is to be introduced to a range of Apple products including iPhones, iPads, and Mac. The new feature is intended to assist people with a hearing impairment which allows users to see real-time captions on any audio content on their Apple devices. The size of the captions can be adjusted for ease of reading.
- Voiceover: The existing screen reader aims to assist users with visual impairment. Apple is set to add support for an additional 20 languages including Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. Voiceover for MAC also includes a new Text Checker tool which identifies common formatting issues such as duplicative spaces or misplaced letters.
There are also additional features which are also set to be released later this year including:
- Siri Pause Time: This allows users with a speech impairment to adjust how long Siri waits before responding to a request.
- Buddy Controller: The new feature combines any two game controllers into one which will allow the user to request assistance from a friend to play a game.
- Sound Recognition: Apple devices recognise sounds which are specific to a user’s environment including unique alarms, doorbells, or appliances.
- Apple Books: The application is set to introduce new themes and allow customisation of texts to allow ease of reading.
For further information on the accessibility tools introduced by Apple, click here:
Alternatively, if you need further information on how to make facilities or services more accessible and inclusive, please do not hesitate to contact one of our team on (01) 415 12 85 or e-mail [email protected].
