Global Accessibility Awareness Day is happening this Thursday (May 19) and Apple, like many other companies, will announce Support update in honor of the occasion. The company is bringing new features to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, and the hottest of them all is the system-wide Live Captions.
Similar to Google’s Deployment on Android, Apple Live Caption captures the audio playing on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac in real time, displaying the subtitles on the screen. It will also caption the audio around you, so you can use it to follow real-world conversations. You will be able to adjust the size and position of the caption box and also choose different font sizes for the words. Sound recordings are also created on the device. But unlike on Android, Live Captions on FaceTime calls will also clearly differentiate between speakers, using icons and names to document what’s being said. In addition, people using Macs will be able to type a response and speak it aloud in real time to others in the conversation. Live captions will be available as a beta in English to people in the US and Canada.
Apple is also updating existing sound recognition engine. With an upcoming update, users will be able to train their iPhone or iPad to listen to custom sounds, such as the “I’m done” song on your washing machine or perhaps your duck. . A new feature called Siri Pause Time will also let you extend the assistant’s timeout when you’re answering or requesting something, so you can take the time to say what you need.
Apple
The company is updating its Magnifier app to help visually impaired people better interact with the people and objects around them. Expand on one previous person detection tool To let users know how close other people are around them, Apple is adding a new Door Recognition feature. This will use LiDAR and the iPhone’s camera not only to locate and identify doors, but also to read out text or symbols on the screen, like hours of operation and signs describing restrooms or entrances. into accessible. In addition, it will describe the handles, whether it requires pushing, pulling, or turning a knob, as well as the color, shape, material of the door, and whether it is opening or closing. Together, People and Door Detection will be part of the new Detection mode in Magnifier.
The updates will also come to the Apple Watch. Last year, the company introduced Touch help, allowing people to interact with the wearable without touching the screen. The watch will sense if the hand is making a fist or if the wearer is touching their index finger and thumb together to perform a “pinch” action. With an upcoming software update, it’s faster and easier to enable Touch-assisted Quick Actions, which will then allow you to use gestures like pinching to answer or end calls , take a photo, start a workout, or pause media playback.
But Assistive Touch is not a method that everyone can use. For those with physical or mobility disabilities that prevent them from fully using hand gestures, the company is bringing a form of voice control and switches to its smartwatch. The feature is called Apple Watch Mirroring, which uses hardware and software including AirPlay to transfer a user’s preset voice or switch control preferences from their iPhone to a wearable device. This will allow them to use head tracking, audio actions, and Made For iPhone switches to interact with their Apple Watch.
Apple is adding more customization options to the Books app, allowing users to apply new themes and adjust line height, word and character spacing, etc. Its VoiceOver screen reader is also coming soon. available in more than 20 new languages and dialects, including Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. Dozens of new voices will also be added, as well as a voice-controlled dictation mode that lets you write custom dictation by typing each letter.
Finally, the company is rolling out a new feature called Buddy Controller that allows anyone to use two controllers to control a single player, which will be useful for users with disabilities who want to collaborate with their care providers. Buddy Controller will work with supported game controllers for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. There are many more updates coming to Apple’s entire ecosystem, including on-demand American Sign Language interpreters expanding to the Apple Store and Support in Canada, and new instructions in the Apple Store. Maps, curated playlists in Apple TV and Music, and the addition of the Accessibility Assistant to the Shortcuts app on Mac and Watch. The features previewed today will roll out later this year.
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