Apple has announced a number of new accessibility features it will be rolling out this year to make technology more accessible for everyone. These features are designed for users with physical disabilities, visual impairments, hearing impairments, or cognitive differences and aim to make Apple devices more inclusive and useful.
One of the prominent innovations is the Eye Tracking feature, which will be available on iPad and iPhone. This feature will allow physically disabled people to control their devices with only their eyes. Thanks to the built-in front camera and artificial intelligence, the Eye Tracking feature can be set up and calibrated in seconds and no additional hardware is required. Users can navigate the screen with their eyes, select items, and perform various functions.
For people who are deaf or have hearing impairment, Apple is introducing a new feature called Music Haptics. This innovative feature uses the Taptic Engine on iPhone to create vibrations in time to music. Users can feel the rhythms and nuances in the music, thus experiencing a richer and more interactive music experience.
Additionally, iPhone and iPad users can simplify complex operations thanks to the Vocal Shortcuts feature, where they can assign various commands to Siri. The Listen for Atypical Speech feature enables speech-impaired people to use their devices more easily by recognizing different speech patterns.
To reduce the nausea that occurs when using an iPhone or iPad in moving vehicles, Apple introduces a new feature called Vehicle Motion Cues. This feature increases visual harmony by showing moving dots around the edges of the screen, thus helping to relieve nausea.
Apple is also adding features to CarPlay such as Voice Control, Color Filters, and Voice Recognition, enabling visually impaired or hearing-impaired drivers and passengers to use CarPlay more easily and safely.
Apple’s new operating system, visionOS, also reflects its commitment to inclusive design. visionOS will deliver system-wide Live Captions, Live Captions for FaceTime, support for Made for iPhone hearing aids and cochlear implants, visual enhancements such as Reduce Transparency, Smart Invert, and Dim Flashing Lights. Additionally, features like VoiceOver, Zoom, Color Filters, Guided Access, Switch Control, Voice Actions, and Dwell Control are already available in visionOS.
Apple is also bringing new updates to existing accessibility features such as VoiceOver, Magnifier, Braille display, Personal Voice, Live Speech, AssistiveTouch, Switch Control, and Voice Control. These updates increase the functionality and ease of use of these features, making Apple devices even more useful for users with disabilities.