Accessibility features make it easier for PWDs to use their devices independently without having to ask others for help. There are various accessibility features that allow the visually impaired to use touch screens on phones for example. Yesterday Apple announced several accessibility features that will make it easier for people with disabilities to use iPhones, iPads and Macs.
Personal Voice and Live Speech
The first is Personal Voice which allows the device to speak using the owner's voice. This feature is useful for owners who will lose the ability to speak due to diseases such as throat cancer or ALS for example. Before losing the ability to speak, they were asked to read a few phrases that took several minutes to record. Then Personal Voice analyzes the audio before having the ability to read the entered text input before reading it with the owner's voice.
Personal Voice will be displayed directly on the phone's key screen, for example, so it can be used by the owner to speak when ordering coffee or interacting with other people even if they have lost the ability to speak.
For those who do not have time to record their own voice or are really mute, Live Speech is also introduced. With Live Speech, the device will speak what the user types. At the initial stage Live Speech and Personal Voice only support English.
Assistive Access
Next is Assistive Access which enlarges the icon on the device interface. It is designed for people with cognitive impairment. With larger icons and text, the process of finding the application you want to use becomes easier.
Point and Speak
Point and Speak uses a camera system, LiDAR and machine learning to help disabled people with poor vision. It identifies the labels in the real world and then displays the subtitles on the device screen. With this microwave oven users can press the appropriate button to cook for example. When launched later it will support English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese and Ukaine.
All of the above accessibility features will be introduced in stages by the end of 2023.