Tech

Apple introduces new accessibility features including door detection, live captions


On Tuesday, Apple released a list of accessibility features aimed at helping users with disabilities. The new features, coming to iPhone, Apple Watch, and Mac later this year, are said to use advances in hardware, software, and machine learning to help people with low vision or visual impairments or those physically or physically active person. disabilities. Features include Door Detection for iPhone and iPad users, Apple Watch Mirroring, and live captions. Apple also announced updates to VoiceOver, with 20 additional languages ​​and languages.

One of the most useful accessibility features Apple introduced as part of it Latest updates is Door Detection using the latest LiDAR sensor Iphone or iPad The model helps to navigate the user to locate the door. The feature, the company says, uses a combination of LiDAR, camera, and on-device machine learning to understand how far the user is from the door and describe the door’s properties, including whether it’s open or closed. , the company said.

If the door is closed, Door Detection can help people open the door by pushing, turning a knob, or pulling a handle. It is also said to be able to read signs and symbols around doors, such as room numbers, and even recognize the presence of an accessible entrance symbol.

Door Detection, will work with iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPad Pro 11-inch (2020), iPad Pro 11 inch (2021)and iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2020) and iPad Pro 12.9-inch (in 2021)will be available through the pre-installed Magnifier app.

Apple’s Magnifier app will have a new Detect Mode to allow access to the Door Detection feature. It will also have Person Detection and Image Description which are two new features that can work alone or together with Door Detection to help assist those with visual impairments or low vision.

Along with the updates in Magnifier, Apple Maps will also receive audible and haptic feedback for users who have VoiceOver enabled to help them determine a starting point for walking direction, the company announced.

The Apple Watch will also get dedicated Apple Watch Mirroring support to allow users to control the smartwatch remotely using their paired iPhone. The new product will help users control their Apple Watch with iPhone-enabled features, including Voice Control and Switch Control. Users can use inputs like voice commands, audio actions, head tracking, and even external Made for iPhone switches as alternatives to tapping the Apple Watch screen.

All of this will assist people with physical and mobility disabilities.

Apple says Apple Watch Mirroring uses built-in hardware and software, including AirPlay advancements, to allow users to use features including the Heart Rate and Blood Oxygen Monitoring app. and mindfulness applications. Mirroring will work with Apple Watch Series 6 and later models.

Apple Watch users will also get support for the double pinch gesture. This will help users answer or end phone calls, dismiss notifications, take photos, play or pause media in the Now Playing app, and start, pause, or resume workouts – all using the double pinch gesture. It will work with AssistiveTouch on Apple Watch.

For users who are deaf or hard of hearing, Apple has announced Live Captions on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It will be available later this year as a beta in English for users in the US and Canada on iPhone 11 and later, iPad models with A12 Bionic or later and Macs with Apple Silicon.

Live captioning will work with any audio content, including phones and FaceTime Calls, as well as video conferencing or social media apps, online media content, and even in cases where users are chatting with someone next to them, the company said.

Apple Live Caption Image Apple Live Caption

Apple is bringing Live Subtitles to iPhone, iPad, and Mac users
Image credit: Apple

Users can adjust the font size for readability. The feature in FaceTime will also distribute automatically transcribed dialogue to call participants to make it more convenient for deaf users to communicate with each other over video calls.

On a Mac, Live Captions will come with the option to type your answers and speak them out loud in real time with others in the conversation, Apple said. It also states that Live Captions will be created on the device – keeping user privacy and safety in mind.

Original Apple Screen Reader – Excessive sound – is also getting 20 more languages ​​and languages, including Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. There will also be dozens of new voices advertised to be optimized for support features across all supported languages.

New languages, locales, and voices will also be available for the Speak Selection and Speak Screen features. Furthermore, VoiceOver on Mac will work with the new Text Inspector tool to fix formatting issues like duplicate spaces or misplaced capitalization.

Apple also introduced several additional accessibility features to celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day this week. These features include Siri Pause Time which will help users adjust how long the voice assistant waits before answering a request, Buddy Control to ask a care provider or a friend to play a game, and Customizable Sound Recognition is claimed to be customized to recognize sounds specific to a person’s environment, such as their alarm clock, doorbell, or unique home appliance.

The pre-loaded Apple Books app will also include new themes and customization options like bolding text and adjusting line, character, and word spacing to provide a more accessible reading experience for users. . More, Shortcut application on Mac and Apple Watch starting this week will help recommend accessibility features based on user preferences using the new Accessibility keyboard shortcut.

Apple Maps will also receive new directions from the National Park Foundation, Park Access for All, to help users discover accessible features, programs, and services to explore in parks across the United States. from Gallaudet University. It will also highlight businesses and organizations that value, embrace and prioritize the Deaf community and signed languages.

Users will also receive accessibility-focused apps and stories from developers in App Store as well as the Transforming Our World collection in Apple Books with stories about people with disabilities. Apple Music will also highlight Saylists playlists where each playlist will focus on a different sound.

The same, similar, Apple TV App will present the latest hit movies and shows that feature realistic representations of people with disabilities.

Users will also have the ability to explore guest curated collections from prominent actors of the accessibility community, including Marlee Matlin (“CODA”), Lauren Ridloff (“Eternals”), Selma Blair (“Introduction, Selma Blair”) and Ali Stroker (“Christmas Ever After”), among others.

The Apple Fitness + This week’s service will also feature trainer Bakari Williams, who will use prominent American Sign Language (ASL) features, including Audio Hints, which are descriptive verbal cues short to assist the blind or visually impaired, and Time to Walk and Time to Run episodes became “Time to Walk or Push” and “Time to Run or Push” for people in wheelchairs.

ASL will also be part of every exercise and meditation on Apple Fitness+, and all videos will include closed captioning in six languages. The trainers will also demonstrate modifications in each exercise to help those in need of access support participate.

Apple is also rolling out SignTime to connect Apple Store and Apple Support customers with on-demand ASL interpreters. SignTime was available to customers in the US using ASL, the UK using British Sign Language (BSL), and France using French Sign Language (LSF). Furthermore, Apple Stores around the world have begun offering live sessions throughout the week to help customers explore iPhone accessibility features and Apple Support’s social channels. is introducing instructional content, the company said.



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