By AppleVis
Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
Apple is once again celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) by
offering a preview of upcoming software features designed to enhance
cognitive, vision, hearing, and mobility accessibility.
These features, scheduled for release later this year, aim to empower
individuals with disabilities and make it easier for them to interact with
technology and the physical world.
Among the upcoming features, the Point and Speak feature will be a welcome
addition for individuals with vision disabilities. This feature, joining
People Detection, Door Detection, and Image Description in the Magnifier
app, utilizes the LiDAR technology available on selected iPhone and iPad
models. By leveraging input from the Camera app, LiDAR Scanner, and machine
learning, Point and Speak announces the text on various buttons as users
move their finger towards them. For example, while using a household
appliance-such as a microwave-Point and Speak will announce the text on each
button as users move their finger across the keypad.
Point and Speak may sound familiar to those who have used or heard of the
recently released VizLens app, which also offers a similar functionality
called 'Live Camera Interaction.' However, Point and Speak distinguishes
itself by utilizing the LiDAR technology to more accurately determine the
position of the user's finger relative to the object being pointed at. This
improved accuracy could potentially provide a more precise and reliable
experience for users, but we shall have to wait and see whether this
translates into any meaningful difference in performance between Point and
Speak and VizLens.
It is worth noting that Point and Speak currently focuses solely on text
recognition and does not include the identification of graphical symbols
typically found on appliance controls. Furthermore, it does not provide
object identification by directly pointing at the objects themselves. It is
also likely that Point and Speak may not be the optimal choice for use cases
involving real-time reading of text on items like food packaging or for
handling longer text passages.
Point and Speak will be available on iPhone and iPad devices with the LiDAR
Scanner in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese,
Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, and Ukrainian.
As Apple continues to expand the capabilities of its Magnifier app, it
raises the question of whether these advancements hint at potential
inclusion in the highly anticipated mixed-reality headset that is expected
to be announced next month at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).
In addition to Point and Speak, Apple has revealed other improvements for
individuals with low vision and VoiceOver users. Users with low vision will
benefit from enhanced Text Size adjustment across various Mac apps,
including Finder, Messages, Mail, Calendar, and Notes, allowing them to
personalize their visual experience according to their preferences and
requirements.
VoiceOver users will enjoy more natural and expressive Siri voices, even at
higher rates of speech feedback. Furthermore, users will have the ability to
customize the rate at which Siri communicates, with options ranging from
0.8x to 2x. This level of customization enables VoiceOver users to tailor
the auditory experience to suit their individual needs and preferences.
Notably, there is no mention of any new features or enhancements
specifically tailored for Braille users. Furthermore, the number of new
features and enhancements for blind and low vision users appears to be fewer
compared to previous previews. This raises the question of whether Apple has
prioritized addressing longstanding issues rather than introducing new
capabilities.
Other features previewed by Apple include Assistive Access, which provides a
customized experience for various apps, including Phone, FaceTime, Messages,
Camera, Photos, and Music, in order to lighten cognitive load. These apps
feature high contrast buttons and large text labels for improved
accessibility.
The feature also offers tools for trusted supporters to personalize the
experience according to the individual's needs. For instance, Messages
includes an emoji-only keyboard and the ability to record video messages for
users who prefer visual communication. Users and their supporters can opt
for a visually-oriented, grid-based Home Screen layout or a text-focused,
row-based layout depending on their preferences.
The new features also include innovative tools for individuals who are
nonspeaking or at risk of losing their ability to speak. For example, Live
Speech on iPhone, iPad, and Mac allows users to type what they want to say
to have it be spoken out loud during phone and FaceTime calls as well as
in-person conversations. Users can also save commonly used phrases to chime
in quickly during lively conversation with family, friends, and colleagues.
Live Speech has been designed to support millions of people globally who are
unable to speak or who have lost their speech over time.
Another speech accessibility feature is Personal Voice, a simple and secure
way to create a voice that sounds like the user. Users can create a Personal
Voice by reading along with a randomized set of text prompts to record 15
minutes of audio on iPhone or iPad. This speech accessibility feature uses
on-device machine learning to keep users' information private and secure and
integrates seamlessly with Live Speech so users can speak with their
Personal Voice when connecting with loved ones.
Apple says that "for users at risk of losing their ability to speak-such as
those with a recent diagnosis of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or
other conditions that can progressively impact speaking ability-Personal
Voice is a simple and secure way to create a voice that sounds like them."
"At the end of the day, the most important thing is being able to
communicate with friends and family," said Philip Green, board member and
ALS advocate at the Team Gleason nonprofit who has experienced significant
changes to his voice since receiving his ALS diagnosis in 2018. "If you can
tell them you love them, in a voice that sounds like you, it makes all the
difference in the world-and being able to create your synthetic voice on
your iPhone in just 15 minutes is extraordinary."
Personal Voice can be created using iPhone, iPad, and Mac with Apple silicon
and will be available in English.
Currently, it is not anticipated that VoiceOver users will be able to
utilize the Personal Voice feature to create a custom text-to-speech (TTS)
voice that can be used by VoiceOver. This presents an intriguing area for
potential development, and we encourage Apple to explore the possibilities
in this regard.
Additional Features:
. Deaf or hard of hearing users can pair Made for iPhone hearing devices
directly to Mac and customize them for their hearing comfort.
. Voice Control adds phonetic suggestions for text editing so users who type
with their voice can choose the right word out of several that might sound
alike, like do, due, and dew. Additionally, with Voice Control Guide, users
can learn tips and tricks about using voice commands as an alternative to
touch and typing across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
. Users with physical and motor disabilities who use Switch Control can turn
any switch into a virtual game controller to play their favorite games on
iPhone and iPad.
. Users who are sensitive to rapid animations can automatically pause images
with moving elements, such as GIFs, in Messages and Safari.
More Apple Celebrations of Global Accessibility Awareness Day:
. SignTime will launch in Germany, Italy, Spain, and South Korea on May 18
to connect Apple Store and Apple Support customers with on-demand sign
language interpreters. The service is already available for customers in the
U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Australia, and Japan.
. Select Apple Store locations around the world are offering informative
sessions throughout the week to help customers discover accessibility
features, and Apple Carnegie Library will feature a Today at Apple session
with sign language performer and interpreter Justina Miles. And with group
reservations - available year-round - Apple Store locations are a place
where community groups can learn about accessibility features together.
. Shortcuts adds Remember This, which helps users with cognitive
disabilities create a visual diary in Notes for easy reference and
reflection.
. This week, Apple Podcasts will offer a collection of shows about the
impact of accessible technology; the Apple TV app is featuring movies and
series curated by notable storytellers from the disability community; Apple
Books will spotlight Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability
Rights Activist, the memoir by disability rights pioneer Judith Heumann; and
Apple Music will feature cross-genre American Sign Language (ASL) music
videos.
. This week in Apple Fitness+, trainer Jamie-Ray Hartshorne incorporates ASL
while highlighting features available to users that are part of an ongoing
effort to make fitness more accessible to all. Features include Audio Hints,
which provide additional short descriptive verbal cues to support users who
are blind or low vision, and Time to Walk and Time to Run episodes become
"Time to Walk or Push" and "Time to Run or Push" for wheelchair users.
Additionally, Fitness+ trainers incorporate ASL into every workout and
meditation, all videos include closed captioning in six languages, and
trainers demonstrate modifications in workouts so users at different levels
can join in.
. The App Store will spotlight three disability community leaders - Aloysius
Gan, Jordyn Zimmerman, and Bradley Heaven - each of whom will share their
experiences as nonspeaking individuals and the transformative effects of
augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) apps in their lives.
"At Apple, we've always believed that the best technology is technology
built for everyone," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "Today, we're excited to
share incredible new features that build on our long history of making
technology accessible so that everyone has the opportunity to create,
communicate, and do what they love."
Apple has not provided any specific release dates for the upcoming features;
however, they are anticipated to be included in the next versions of their
operating systems, such as iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14, watchOS 10, and tvOS
17, which are expected to be launched this fall.
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