Ahead of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD, May 15), Apple’s accessibility team shared a number of new assistive features that will be coming to its ecosystem of products later this year. One of the most important changes is the new Accessibility Nutrition Labels section in the App Store that makes it easy to find what features an app or game supports.
“At Apple, accessibility is part of our DNA. Making technology for everyone is a priority for all of us,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, while introducing tools to help people “access crucial information, explore the world around them, and do what they love”.
Accessibility Nutrition Labels
Later this year, the App Store will get Accessibility Nutrition Labels, a new section in app pages. Consider the existing Privacy Nutrition Labels Apple introduced some years ago. The new feature is on similar lines. It will offer a quick view of accessible features for an app, like support for the VoiceOver screen reader, Larger Text, Sufficient Contrast, Captions, Voice Control, Reduced Motion and more. Tapping on each preview will bring up a page with more details on other accessibility features that are available and explanations on each of them. It will help consumers identify apps that are suited to their needs.
A colourblind person, for example, can see if a matching game offers “Differentiate without colour alone” before installing it. Apple is offering what the gaming industry wants to do with the Accessible Games Initiative (AGI) that was announced in March.
On the App Store, new Accessibility Nutrition Labels will highlight accessibility features within apps and games, allowing users to learn whether an app will be accessible to them before they download it.
“Accessibility Nutrition Labels are a huge step forward for accessibility. Consumers deserve to know if a product or service will be accessible to them from the very start, and Apple has a long-standing history of delivering tools and technologies that allow developers to build experiences for everyone. These labels will give people with disabilities a new way to easily make more informed decisions and make purchases with a new level of confidence,” said Eric Bridges, the American Foundation for the Blind’s president and CEO.
Braille Access
Apple says the new Braille Access experience can turn a user’s Apple device “into a full-featured Braille note taker that’s deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem”. For those who are comfortable writing in Braille, Apple has supported Braille input for a long time and has recently started working with Braille displays. This year, Apple will bring Braille Access to iPhones, iPads, Macs and Vision Pros to make it easier to take notes in Braille.
Users will be able to quickly take notes in Braille format and perform calculations using Nemeth Braille, a braille code often used in classrooms for math and science. Users can open Braille Ready Format (BRF) files directly from Braille Access, unlocking a wide range of books and files previously created on a Braille note-taking device. Also, an integrated form of Live Captions will allow users to transcribe conversations in real time directly on Braille displays.
Magnifier for Mac
A popular feature on iPhone and iPad, Magnifier will expand to macOS, allowing users to zoom in on their surroundings using their camera. The Mac version supports Continuity Camera with iPhone, USB cameras and Desk View.
In a video, Apple has shown a student in a lecture hall using her iPhone attached to the top of a MacBook. The Magnifier for Mac will work with Continuity Camera on iPhone as well as with attached USB cameras. Sophie is able to zoom in and see what’s on a distant whiteboard.
With Braille Access, users can quickly take notes in Braille format and perform calculations using Nemeth Braille, a Braille code often used in classrooms for math and science.
The app also works with Desk View, so you can use it to more easily read documents in front of you. There will also be multiple live session windows to keep up with a presentation through the webcam while using Desk View to, say, read a textbook at the same time.
The app allows the user to adjust brightness, contrast and more.
Accessibility Reader
Magnifier for Mac is integrated with another new accessibility feature — Accessibility Reader. It lets you transform text from the physical world into a custom, legible format.
The systemwide reading mode is designed to make text easier to read for users with a wide range of disabilities, such as dyslexia or low vision. Users can customise text and focus on content they want to read, with options for font, colour and spacing, as well as support for Spoken Content.
Live Captions on Apple Watch
For users who are deaf or hard of hearing, the Live Listen feature that’s already on iPhones will be complemented by controls on the Apple Watch, besides access to some extra features.
When you start a Live Listen session on your iPhone, it will stream what the microphone picks up to your connected AirPods, Beats headphones or compatible hearing aids, you’ll soon be able to see Live Captions on your paired Apple Watch. There will also be controls on your wrist, so you can start, stop or rewind a session. This means you can stay on your couch and start Live Listen sessions without having to go over to, say, the kitchen to pick up your iPhone and hear what your partner might be saying while they’re cooking.
Background Sounds
Background Sounds feature can help those with tinnitus by playing white noise (or other types of audio) to tackle symptoms. The feature will become easier to personalise with new EQ settings, the option to stop automatically after a period of time, and new actions for automations in Shortcuts.
Brain Computer Interface
For users with severe mobility disabilities, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS will add a new protocol to support Switch Control for Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs), an emerging technology that allows users to control their device without physical movement. The idea is to interpret the intent of a user based on their brain signals, then relay that to the device’s operating system, and perform actions on the device without the user having to touch it.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is working with startup Synchron on a new brain-computer interface. Synchron has implanted Stentrode devices in a few people since 2019 to tackle severe disabilities that prevent movement and speech. One is Mark Jackson, who has ALS. He told The Wall Street Journal he is learning how to control his iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro headset with his Stentrode implant.