- NEW DELHI — Technology
giant Apple on Tuesday announced a host of accessibility features which include
accessibility labels on the App Store, braille access, and reader to help users
who are blind, deaf or have mobility issues.
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- The accessibility features, announced ahead of Global
Accessibility Awareness Day on May 15, are expected to be rolled out later this
year, the company said.
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- The new Magnifier app for Mac, the new Braille Access
feature is designed for people who are blind or have low vision to explore,
learn, and interact; take notes and perform calculations, and also leverage the
powerful camera system of Apple Vision Pro with new updates to visionOS.
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- The company also announced the launch of Accessibility
Reader, a new systemwide reading mode designed with accessibility in mind,
along with updates to Live Listen, background sounds, personal voice, and
vehicle motion cues.
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- The features, which leverage the power of Apple silicon
along with advances in on-device machine learning and artificial intelligence,
will enable users with a new level of accessibility across the Apple ecosystem.
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- “At Apple, accessibility is part of our DNA,” said Tim Cook,
Apple’s CEO, in a statement.
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- “Making technology for everyone is a priority for all of us,
and we’re proud of the innovations we’re sharing this year. That includes tools
to help people access crucial information, explore the world around them, and
do what they love,” he added.
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- Further, 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.
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