Global Accessibility Awareness Day came about by accident: a post written by Los Angeles developer Joe Devon in November 2011, resumed by a lucky combination of a professional from Toronto, Jennison Asuncion, led to the idea of creating a “special” day to raise awareness of the issue of digital accessibility. Approximately one billion people around the world have difficulties or limitations since birth or due to illness, accidents or simply aging. Yet using digital technologies is not only convenient, it is becoming increasingly necessary as work, social activities, leisure and administrative practices digitize.
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Apple, which has always paid attention to users who have disabilities (as in this graduation speech given by Tim Cook at Gallaudet University, an important university for the deaf and visually impaired, which was also attended by the actors of Coda, the Oscar-winning film distributed by Apple), participates in the day by choosing it as a point from which to communicate some of the news for its operating systems that will be made available in the coming weeks and months (“by the end of the year,” he says. the company). There are three more substantial innovations and a series of small adjustments to a family of operating systems (for Mac, iPhone and iPad, but also Apple Watch and Apple TV) that were designed from the outset with the idea of making them accessible as much as possible for people who have reduced functionality.
Live subtitles
The most interesting novelty for a large number of people is probably that of “live” subtitles, automatically generated thanks to voice recognition systems that allow not only to “subtitle” any audio that passes through the computer (from a videoconference on Facetime to a podcast to any other type of videoconference).
The subtitles, which are a kind of transcription of what is called automatic, are displayed above the video window and can be activated through a feature of the accessibility menu of the device preferences (iPhone, iPad and Mac). The transcription made thanks to artificial intelligence takes place locally in the device, so no data is communicated to Apple and also can be done for example in a condition of zero connection (starting a podcast or a video). Apple hasn’t said when it will make the feature available, which will arrive later this year anyway.
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There are other companies that over the years have proposed solutions of this type (for example the American Ava) and which still offer even more structured services (for example, Apple said that it will not be possible to save a copy of the transcript of the video or of the audio, while other services allow it).
Apple Watch becomes more accessible
Apple watches have become the most popular smartwatch in the world and offer various features thanks not only to the apps and the connection with the iPhone or directly with the telephone network and WiFi, but also thanks to the sensors that allow you to understand if you are doing movement, exercise, heart rate and electrocardiogram. Some of these features require you to specifically use the smart watch but it has a limited size and screen and can be a problem for people with accessibility problems. For this reason, Apple has studied a system to connect the watch directly to the phone and project the entire interface of the smart watch on the latter’s screen. This allows both to use it more easily given the larger screen size of the iPhone, and to use the other accessibility software tools such as voice commands on the interface, to operate the various functions.
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Apple, which will also make this feature later in the year, has also added other gesture-based commands that allow with a “double pinch”, a double pinch with two fingers on the screen, to take a photo, to pause. or restart a workout, answer the phone.
Assisted view
Apple has long begun to exploit the potential that the iPhone offers for people with low vision, visual impairment or blindness by using the camera and Siri as a digital eye to provide information on the surrounding environment. Some functions, such as the magnifying glass function, allow for example to frame and zoom with a very high magnification factor to be able to see small writings or details of objects.
With the arrival of machine learning and artificial intelligence in the last three years, Apple has added smart features that allow the phone to act as an intelligent aid: the camera frames and provides audible indications about the presence of obstacles in the path or other indications. Apple has also made it possible to recognize and indicate the presence of different types of obstacles: from an object to a person and indicate their relative distance (a feature that has been greatly appreciated in times of pandemic for social distancing in public environments).
Now Apple adds a “door” feature that allows the phone to recognize doors and gates, describe them (materials, color and shape) and read any inscriptions and signs (from the name of a sign in a store to the presence of the reserved toilet for disabled people writing on the door). The functionality will be integrated in a small revolution of this part of the functions of the iPhone, grouping in a “Recognition” mode in “Magnifying glass” all the various possibilities created by Apple in recent times. This too will arrive by the end of the year.
Other news
Finally, Apple has made other accessibility features or refinements to those already present. From the assistant who recognizes the sounds (useful for signaling to a person with reduced or absent hearing function if a telephone is ringing, when the doorbell is ringing, if the pressure cooker is whistling and more) to the possibility of improving the visualization of the text in the Apple’s Books app to the calibration function of Siri’s wait times before giving a response to a voice command to help those who speak more slowly or with difficulty, up to the possibility of connecting two video game controllers and allowing help in the game that allow a person with reduced motor or other impaired function to enjoy playing with the help of a friend or others.
Like other accessibility features, Buddy Controller is, according to Apple, a way to help as many people as possible exercise their right to use digital tools.