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Apple Accessibility website gets major revamp: ‘Make something wonderful’

The Apple Accessibility website has been given a major revamp, in a move praised by accessibility and assisting tech reporter Steven Aquino – who said that it “captures their institutional love for accessibility as a thing.”

Apple heads the page with an invitation to “make something wonderful” …

Built‑in features that work the way you do. Make them yours, and make something wonderful.

The page itself uses large, high-contrast copy to describe the accessibility features in Apple products.

Apple highlights key features in four categories:

  • Vision
  • Mobility
  • Hearing
  • Cognitive

In vision, for example, Apple describes the Magnifier, to help read smaller print; the ability to set larger system text; VoiceOver, to read text aloud, and provide an auditory description of visuals; Speak Selection, to read aloud highlighted text; and Audio Descriptions on Apple TV.

Within each section, there are links to learn about each feature. For example, if you click or tap on Sound Recognition within the hearing category, you get a brief explanation first:

Receive a visible and vibrating notification when your iPhone or iPad detects a particular type of sound or alert — such as fire alarms or doorbells.

Then a link to a support document with more details, and instructions on how to activate and use it.

Your iPhone can continuously listen for certain sounds—such as a crying baby, doorbell, or siren—and notify you when it recognizes these sounds.

Note: Don’t rely on your iPhone to recognize sounds in circumstances where you may be harmed or injured, in high-risk or emergency situations, or for navigation.

Set up Sound Recognition

  1. Go to Settings  > Accessibility > Sound Recognition, then turn on Sound Recognition.
  2. Tap Sounds, then turn on the sounds you want iPhone to recognize.

Tip: To quickly turn Sound Recognition on or off, use Control Center.

Apple prides itself on the accessibility of its products, stating that it offers these irrespective of the return on investment. Earlier in the year, we heard from someone who is quadriplegic on how Apple’s assistive technology does and doesn’t help him.

What do you think of the new look of the Apple Accessibility website? Please let us know in the comments.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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