accessibility

Visually impaired people face plenty of challenges when navigating a busy city like New York, and never more so than using the NYC subway system. That looks set to change with the help of the Commute Booster accessibility app, which has passed the first stage of testing with flying colors.

The trickiest part of a subway commute for anyone who has loss of sight or is visually impaired is the so-called “middle mile,” and it’s here the app can help …

iOS 17 has solved one of the biggest accessibility hurdles for iPhone users with limited movement: the dreaded ‘You need to unlock your iPhone first’ message.

Siri is of course a massive accessibility win for people like 9to5Mac friend and quadriplegic Colin Hughes, allowing voice control of a wide range of tasks. But until now, there’s been a major hurdle …

As part of its preview of iOS 17 accessibility updates coming this year, Apple announced a pair of new features called Live Speech and Personal Voice. Live Speech allows users to type what they want to say and have it be spoken out.

Personal Voice, on the other hand, is a way for people who are at risk of losing their ability to speak to create and save a voice that sounds like them. Apple says it’s designed for people at risk of losing their ability to speak, such as those with a recent diagnosis of ALS.

With the first beta of iOS 17 now available, you can now try out Personal Voice for yourself.

While Personal Voice was one of the most exciting of the upcoming accessibility features Apple announced this week, you may have thought it wasn’t relevant to most people. But a new report today suggests that we should all take advantage of it when iOS 17 launches.

That’s because loss of speech ability can occur very suddenly through medical conditions like ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). By the time people realize they need a synthesized voice that sounds like them, it may be too late …

Yesterday saw the announcement of a flurry of Apple accessibility improvements, including a new “Assistive Access” interface option, Live Speech, and Personal Voice. These have been welcomed by people who rely on accessibility features, though they would like to see greater ambition for one of the features.

The Personal Voice feature was the one to get the most attention, needing just 15 minutes of training in order to allow users to have their iPhone play speech in their own voice …

As part of a flurry of new accessibility improvements announced by Apple today, the company says that Made for iPhone hearing aids can pair directly with Macs for the first time. Previously, pairing was only available with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

Compatible products already support pairing with more than one Apple device, so this move should make it much easier for people who use both Macs and iOS devices …

A new Apple accessibility video highlights a variety of features designed to offer independence to people with a range of disabilities.

Set to the soundtrack “I Am the Greatest” by Spinifex Gum (with Marliya Choir), it opens by showing a woman telling Siri to set her morning scene …

AirPods Pro can serve as affordable hearing aids, with one study suggesting that they perform as well as dedicated devices costing four-figure sums.

Apple is believed to have hearing aid functionality as a medium-term goal for AirPods as part of its commitment to Accessibility, and has already made some moves in this direction …

Apple’s platforms have long been praised for their dedication to industry-leading accessibility features. Apple itself does an excellent job in this regard, but there’s also an entire industry of other companies and researchers developing innovative new ways to use iPhone and iPad for improved accessibility.

A new story today from Semafor highlights ongoing work by New York-based company Synchron, which is working on computer-brain implant technology that allows patients to control an iPhone or iPad using their brain.

Apple Glasses Accessibility features could see the long-rumored devices make a huge difference to the lives of those with disabilities.

The point was made by Colin Hughes, the disability campaigner who recently shared the ways in which Apple tech allows him to live a more independent life despite almost no use of his limbs …

For severely disabled people, it’s no exaggeration to say that Apple Accessibility transforms lives – but it can be difficult to appreciate the impact that even minor-sounding changes can make until you see it for yourself.

Colin Hughes is a former TV producer and now disability campaigner who kindly showed me around his home to see how he uses both Accessibility features and HomeKit control to maximize the independence he retains over his daily life …

Apple and the University of Illinois are teaming up with Google, Meta, and more tech companies to collaborate on something called the Speech Accessibility Project. The goal of the initiative is to study and improve how artificial intelligence algorithms can be tuned to improve voice recognition for users with diseases that affect speech, including ALS and Down Syndrome.

Apple machine learning projects span almost every aspect of the company’s activities, but in a new speech at an AI conference, a senior exec spoke specifically about the benefits for accessibility and health.

Ge Yue, Apple VP and managing director of Apple Greater China, gave her speech at the 2022 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai …

The father of an autistic child with Down syndrome has said that an iPad with a speech app has made more difference to his son’s life than the far more expensive dedicated device offered under state programs.

The piece highlights the gap between what will most benefit kids with special needs, and what healthcare and education programs are willing to pay for …

Apple has introduced three iOS 16 accessibility features that might sound like small things, but one 9to5Mac reader says they will make a big difference to his independence.

Colin Hughes has been calling for three improvements, and says he is delighted to learn that Apple listened, and that all three are present in the first beta of iOS 16 …

Apple this week celebrated Global Accessibility Awareness Day by announcing new accessibility features that will be available later this year with iOS 16 and other software updates. However, while we wait for those updates, the company has been promoting accessibility tips that anyone can take advantage of.

Apple yesterday previewed some iOS 16 accessibility features we can look forward to, including live captions, Apple Watch mirroring, and door detection.

It’s often been argued that accessibility features in general can benefit everyone, not just the target group, and Macworld argues that this is the case for all three of the above features …

Apple is celebrating Accessibility Awareness Day this entire week with new content for Apple lovers of varying abilities. There’s a lot to check out this week from Fitness+, Apple Maps, Apple Music, and more.