Apple puts a big emphasis on the accessibility of its products, ranging from
iPhone and Apple Watch to AirPods and more. In a new interview, Sarah
Herrlinger, Apple's global head of accessibility, offers more details about
Apple's focus on accessibility.
Speaking to the
<https://www.standard.co.uk/tech/apple-head-of-accessibility-sarah-herrlinge
r-assistive-tech-design-iphone-apple-watch-a4312151.html> Evening Standard,
Herrlinger explained that Apple's central goal is to level the playing field
and give everyone the ability to be productive members of society.
"We all want to be productive members of society and do good things and show
the whole of who we are. Being able to create technology that levels the
playing field and lets everyone shine is really important," she says.
When it comes to developing new accessibility features, Herrlinger said that
one of the key resources for Apple is emails from customers. Hearing a user
articulate why an accessibility feature would be useful for them is often
the "aha moment" for Apple, Herrlinger said.
"We get a wealth of emails every day from customers who write to us to ask
questions, or give feedback that provides us with a different perspective,
they may report bugs, all kinds of different things," says Herrlinger.
"Knowing that one person may articulate a problem in a certain way - it's
the aha moment - of course we should do that."
One of Apple's biggest accessibility advancements is VoiceOver, which is a
screen reader technology that helps visually impaired users know what's on
their iPhone's screen. VoiceOver has been successful because of its deep
implementation throughout iOS, Herrlinger explained:
"VoiceOver is built to be available in every nook and cranny of the
operating system," explains Herrlinger. "If you're trying to take a photo,
it'll tell you how many heads are on the screen, where they are centred, if
you need to tilt the camera slightly and how to move so you can take a more
levelled photo."
Herrlinger also elaborated on the AirPods
<https://9to5mac.com/2018/07/07/live-listen-airpods-hands-on/> ' Live Listen
feature. This allows your iPhone to act as a directional microphone, with
audio being played back live to a pair of AirPods. Herrlinger said that this
is one of many examples of an accessibility feature having a broader use
case than originally intended:
"Things in assistive technology have applicability for a broader audience so
it's always fun when we find things that were originally built for one
community that have such great applicability for so many."
Herrlinger's full interview is definitely worth a read and can be found on
the
<https://www.standard.co.uk/tech/apple-head-of-accessibility-sarah-herrlinge
r-assistive-tech-design-iphone-apple-watch-a4312151.html> Evening Standard
website.
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