People with Parkinson’s disease progressively lose core pieces of themselves. Things that were once taken for granted are no longer possible — something as simple as holding up a phone camera to record a child taking a bicycle ride or birthday moments of an ageing grandma. Though a solution is still not in sight, a new short film from Apple, titled No Frames Missed, shows the responsibility tech companies have.
The muscles get weaker, voices lose clarity, and movements slow down. “My advice for someone diagnosed with Parkinson’s… it is not just an ending, it is the beginning of a new chapter. You can’t let Parkinson’s win,” says Brett Harvey in the video. He is a filmmaker who has been living with Parkinson’s for six years. Given the diagnosis at the age of 37, his wife and little boy have adjusted their lives around him.
The film is part of Apple’s campaign to highlight accessibility as a core design feature in its hardware and software. The Action Mode helps stablise shaky footage so people with movement disorders can record moments without making compromises.
Introduced with the iPhone 14 lineup in September 2022, the feature has only become better. Be it biking, running or playing in the park, the feature can capture smooth videos.
Parkinson’s is one of the fastest-growing neurological diseases worldwide. More than 10 million people are living with it. iPhone users can pair Action Mode with Voice Control, an accessibility feature that lets users operate iPhone hands-free with spoken commands. Be it Brett, Ellen Victoria (who has been living with Parkinson’s for 10 years) and Bette W. (also 10 years with Parkinson’s disease), using voice, they can simply say, “Tap Action. Tap record.” It will automatically activate Action Mode while recording videos. They are seen using the features in the Apple film.
Apple has always been trying to highlight the lives of people living with Parkinson’s. On Apple TV+, the workplace comedy Shrinking features a character living with the condition, played by Harrison Ford, helping bring awareness to the realities of life with Parkinson’s.
Michael J. Fox will be seen in a major guest-starring role on the upcoming third season of the hit Apple TV+’ show. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in the early 1990s.