Apple has announced a variety of innovative accessibility features coming later this year, focused on enhancing an inclusive design.
Through these features, Apple is enabling users with a wide range of abilities to experience the tech giant’s products in ways that are personalized and commendable.
Control Your Device with Just Your Eyes
Aimed at users with physical disabilities, Eye Tracking allows for complete control of iPhones and iPads using just eye movements.
This built-in feature leverages the front-facing camera and on-device machine learning to ensure user privacy and remove the need for additional hardware. Dwell Control enables users to select elements on the screen simply by focusing their gaze.
Music Haptics to Feel the Rhythm
Music Haptics is an innovation for deaf and hard-of-hearing users. In utilizing the Taptic Engine in iPhones, this feature translates music into a great experience through taps, textures, and subtle vibrations.
It works seamlessly with millions of songs in the Apple Music library and will be available as an API for developers to integrate into their apps.
A Wider Range of Speech Recognition
For users with atypical speech patterns caused by conditions like ALS or cerebral palsy, Apple introduces Listen for Atypical Speech.
This feature uses on-device machine learning to recognize individual speech patterns, providing greater customization and control.
Again, Vocal Shortcuts enable users to create personalized voice commands to trigger complex tasks on their iPhones and iPads.
Reduced Motion Sickness with Vehicle Motion Cues
Vehicle Motion Cues is a thoughtful feature designed to combat motion sickness commonly experienced while using iPhones or iPads in moving vehicles.
It utilizes animated dots on the screen that subtly adapt to the vehicle’s motion, minimizing sensory conflict and ensuring a smoother ride.
CarPlay has Enhanced Accessibility
CarPlay receives a welcome accessibility upgrade with the inclusion of Voice Control, Color Filters, and Sound Recognition. Drivers and passengers can now navigate CarPlay features and apps using just their voice.
Colour Filters enhance the CarPlay interface for users with colour blindness, while Sound Recognition alerts deaf or hard-of-hearing users to important sounds like car horns and sirens.
Accessibility in visionOS
This year, visionOS introduces systemwide Live Captions, a great one for everyone, including deaf and hard-of-hearing users, allowing them to follow conversations and audio from apps in real-time.
Apple Vision Pro gains the ability to move captions within the Apple Immersive Video window, alongside support for new hearing devices and cochlear implants.
Additionally, features like Reduce Transparency, Smart Invert, and Dim Flashing Lights cater to users with low vision or light sensitivity.
Celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Throughout May, Apple is hosting various initiatives in celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Select Apple Stores will offer free sessions showcasing accessibility features, while the Apple TV app highlights inspiring content from creators with disabilities.
The App Store features a curated collection of apps promoting inclusion, and Apple Books offers ebooks and audiobooks focusing on disability narratives.
Apple Fitness+ workouts and meditations continue to prioritize inclusivity with sign language options and audio descriptions, while Apple Support provides valuable resources for users to personalize their Apple devices for optimal accessibility.
