Earlier this week, Apple marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2022, celebrated every year on December 3, with a video called ‘The Greatest Thing’ that showcases how some of its users are using use your device. accessibility featuresfrom door detection to audible alarms.
When Spinifex Gum’s ‘I’m the Greatest’ (with Marliya Choir) plays in the background, you’ll see several scenarios using the above accessibility features iOS and Mac OS such as Magnifier, Door Detector and Image Description above Iphonealong with alternative pointer controls on Macsuch as head & facial expression tracking.
Granted, it’s an advertisement when summed up – a bunch of features shown that you can use on Apple devices. However, you can’t deny that there’s something special here and it affects how far the software has come to the point where almost anyone can use these devices as well as anyone else.
However, with the rumor of a Apple VR headset is supposed to launch in 2023, which makes me wonder if Apple will accessibility features can go a step further when it comes to AR and VR.
The era of calling Accessibility an ‘easter egg’ is over
When you watch this two-minute video (with a audio description version (opens in a new tab), as well), you’ll be impressed by how these seven users, not actors, are going through their lives using iPhones, Macs, and laptops. Apple Watch to help them with daily tasks. For example, you see a deaf mother alerted on her Apple Watch that her newborn baby is crying, so she comes in and takes care of the baby. You can enable this feature by going to Settings > Accessibility > Sound Recognitionthen turn on Sound Recognition to select some alerts for some sounds.
Meanwhile, the Julliard-trained jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker (opens in a new tab) caught my attention with how he used detection in a scene where he was using an iPhone to help him read what it said on the door. I have been told that door detection works with any iPhone with LIDAR scanning featureso a iPhone 12 Pro or more, and it can operate up to 20 feet away.
See how Detection mode in Magnifier app reading the word ‘Stage’ on the door, I realized that this could be the beginning of something greater. Imagine a headset that automatically reads menu items out loud wherever you turn your eyes or other distance detection notifications.
Also, if you’re walking your dog, for example, headphones can allow you to see better on a foggy morning to pick up a stick the dog may have dropped next to you or it may have guide you where What is a stick, and how close is it.
All of this goes back to accessibility and how it can enrich someone’s lifestyle. It’s long been described as “easter eggs” or “hidden features” of Accessibility features, and it’s time for that to change. It is videos like ‘The Greatest Thing’ that show how Voice Control and Detection Mode not only helps everyday users but also evolves.
The headset is rumored to be able to take these features to the next level, and if it’s announced in 2023, the first question for me won’t be how much it will cost but what features it will support. Which features are introduced from day one.
This video is one of the best Apple videos in recent years – now see what else this category can do to enrich the lives of others.
