With the release of the latest Apple iPhone and iWatch, it seemed fitting to review some of the latest accessibility updates. The article I'm sharing below, written by the Assistive Technology Blog (ATB) in June 2016, highlights these accessibility updates for the iPhone, iWatch and iOS.
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Just yesterday, Apple announced
several new features that will bring in lots of additional functionality
and convenience across all products in this coming fall. However, what
are some of the features that can be used by people with disabilities?
It seems like a lot of new features
will enable people who have visual impairments, impaired motor skills,
muscular dystrophy/atrophy, and other similar disabilities to interact
with the devices just with their voice and get desired results very
quickly and efficiently. Using the new features with an additional eye
tracking device for those
who need it can definitely enhance their
experience as well.
iOS for iPhone and iPad get the most
features in the upcoming release. By just talking to Siri, a user could order a ride, send money to someone, order food, and do similar
activities.
Contextual
prediction is being introduced which means that iOS will predict what a
person is trying to type by making suggestions in various contexts. For
example, if someone is typing “I am available today at”, the free time
on their calendar will pop up as an option. Similarly, when typing
“John’s phone number is”, John’s phone number will be pulled from the
address book and displayed as an option.
Search has been enhanced to use
artificial intelligence. iOS can detect objects in photos, and a user
can now search for just the photos that were taken at the beach, for
example.
Apple Pay is coming to various
shopping websites so no need to type in a credit card number and other
information every time a user goes to a shopping website. Purchases can
now be made with just a click of a button in a secure manner.
WatchOS
In
the upcoming release, apps will load much faster. A user would also be
able to add minutes to a parking meter, order their food, and make other
similar purchases using Apple Pay on their watch.
The fitness aspect of the watch has
included a wider audience now – wheelchair users! Wheelchair users will
be able to track their physical activity through various pushing
techniques for various speeds and terrains. Wheelchair specific workouts
have now been included, and notifications will be sent every hour for
“time to roll” when a person has been sitting and not moving for a long
time, to encourage them to be active.
Pressing the side button initiates a
call with local emergency services anywhere in the world. It can also be
used to send a quick text to a user’s emergency contacts.
Wearing an Apple Watch will also work
as an authentication mechanism for a user’s Mac. When a user wearing an
Apple Watch approaches their Mac, the Mac senses their presence and logs
them in automatically. No need to type the password for unlocking the
computer.
The new “Home” app will also let users
control connected (Internet of Things) devices around the house using
their phone, tablet, watch or TV. Location based automation can also be
set up using the Home app – if a user is approaching the house, turn on
the lights, pull up the blinds, and set the thermostat to 68 degrees.
MacOS (formerly OS X)
Siri is now coming to Mac. Siri can
locate files for a user (“Show the pdfs in my Downloads folder”, “Show
my photos from yesterday”), add and modify events (“Add Laura to my 10
AM meeting”), search for images from the internet (“Show me images of
Lake Tahoe”), play music, check weather, and do lots of other things.
These are some of the features that
people with disabilities can use that will make things easier for them.
We should hopefully see a full list of accessibility features from Apple
in the near future.
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