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Apple TV

How to use Hey Siri

Apple introduced the ability for users to say “Hey Siri” and provide hands-free voice commands to Siri in 2014 with iOS 8. It was limited to basic actions and information queries, but the technology has improved dramatically in the last decade.

How to set up “Hey Siri”

Open the Settings app
Scroll down and select “Siri & Search”
Toggle on “Listen for ‘Hey Siri'”
The procedure is identical for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch and their respective Settings apps.

Macs can also listen for “Hey Siri,” but only in models released in 2018 or later for MacBooks and in 2020 or later for iMacs. The toggle is in the same location, but this time in System Preferences. read more

Apple adds accessibility to Fitness+, live sessions, shortcut suggestions, and more

Apple adds accessibility to Fitness+, live sessions, shortcut suggestions, and more

Apple is celebrating Accessibility Awareness Day with new content for Apple lovers of varying abilities, from Fitness+, Apple Maps, Apple Music, and more.

What is SignTime?

SignTime, which is an on-demand sign language service in Apple Stores, is coming to Canada on May 19. Apple Support and Apple Store customers can utilize this service to communicate with an interpreter through American Sign Language (ASL). SignTime is already available in the US using ASL, in the UK using British Sign Language (BSL), and France using French Sign Language (LSF). read more

Apple announces new accessibility features coming soon to an Apple near you

It’s that time of year, in honour of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple is previewing a number of new accessibility features coming to iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac later this year. The company says that these new features will bring additional ways for users with disabilities to “navigate, connect, and get the most out of Apple products.”

What is Door Detection?

One of the new features is called Door Detection, which Apple says can help users locate a door upon arriving at a new destination. Door Detection can help users understand how far they are from a door and describe its attributes, including whether it’s open or closed. If the door is closed, the feature can inform the user whether the door can be opened by pushing, turning a knob, or pulling a handle. read more

How to use SharePlay on FaceTime

One of the new features that iOS 15 offers is the ability to share your iPhone and iPad screen during FaceTime sessions so that you can enjoy films, music, and other media along with friends and family. This new feature, called SharePlay, has been included in iOS 15.1 and can now be used to a limited extent.

Currently, you can share content from Apple TV and Apple Music — as long as both of you are subscribers . You can share YouTube videos, HBO Max, Hulu, and Disney Plus as the list of shareable apps continues to expand. read more

Apple adds two new features for Apple Music

Late on Monday night, Apple added two new features for its Apple Music subscription service: immersive Dolby Atmos spatial audio and lossless-quality streaming.

WHAT IS SPATIAL AUDIO FOR MUSIC?

It makes you feel like you’re onstage, standing right next to the singer, it makes you feel like you might be to the left of the drummer, to the right of the guitarist. On its website, Apple says “music created in Dolby Atmos is freed from channels, allowing artists to place individual sounds all around you.”

Spatial audio gives music a unique feeling. And it’s in a different way than a high-end pair of headphones might bring the most out of a stereo track’s soundstage. In particular, vocals often have a very distinct placement in the mix and cut through better than on traditional stereo tracks. read more

Apple Music adds Saylists to help people with speech-sound disorders

Apple has launched Saylists on Apple Music to help people with speech disabilities. Apple worked with Warner Music to develop the said Apple Music feature that will use algorithms to find songs with challenging lyrics and sounds.

The purpose of “Saylists” would be to offer users songs that would have repeating sounds such as “ch…”, “g…”, “k…”, “z…”, and others. This is because getting people with SSD to repeat hard and challenging sounds is one of the most successful therapeutic strategies to treat the disorder. read more

How to turn Apple’s HomePods into a Surround Sound System

You can use two HomePods and a Apple TV 4K to create a Dolby Atmos home theater system. Here’s how it works.

Apple has updated the original HomePod, including the ability to create the ultimate Apple surround-sound system.

Alongside the launch of the HomePod mini, Apple gave the original HomePod Home Cinema mode that lets you set one or two HomePods (paired in stereo) as the default speakers for your Apple TV. And secondly, Apple has given the HomePod support for Dolby Atmos.

Dolby Atmos capability is a crucial element of a modern home theater system which creates virtual channels that trick your ears into thinking that sound is coming from all around you — left, right and above — instead of just right in front of you. To watch movies or shows that support Dolby Atmos, you need to have a smart TV that supports Dolby Atmos or you can use a streaming stick that supports Dolby Atmos, like an Apple TV 4K or a Fire TV Stick 4K. In the case of HomePod, you don’t need a TV that supports Atmos because the Apple TV 4K can play Dolby Atmos audio over AirPlay 2. read more

Twitter Will Now Ban Dehumanizing Remarks Based on Disability, Age and Disease

Twitter has updated its hate speech policies to cover tweets that make dehumanizing remarks, which are remarks that treat “others as less than human,” on the basis of disability, age or disease. The changes follow updates to the company’s policies made last July that said Twitter would remove tweets that dehumanize religious groups.

Prior to that, Twitter issued a broad ban in 2018 on dehumanizing speech to compliment its existing hate speech policies that cover protected classes like race and gender. It has since been updating these dehumanization policies to take into account specific cases its original ruleset failed to address, based on user feedback. read more

How To Get Disney+ for Free Right Now

With generous usage guidelines four concurrent streams, up to seven user profiles per account, Disney+ is inevitably going to be shared by people.

The service is meant to be enjoyed by everyone in your household, but there will also likely be people who share their passwords with friends across the country. Disney will allow Disney+ subscribers to share their accounts with other users — for the time being.

Speaking to The Verge, Michael Paull, president of Disney Streaming Services, said Disney will monitor password sharing activity and crack down in certain cases. read more

Hulu Adds New Accessibility Features

Hulu has just debuted two new features to make its platform easier to use for people with visual impairments.

The first new feature focuses on text legibility. Hulu said it now has easier-to-read text because it enhanced the text opacity. This update will be applied automatically for all Hulu users.

Secondly, the company added screen reader (or audio guide) capabilities. The screen reader helps viewers with visual impairments by vocally guiding them through the Hulu platform. It can be turned on via a device’s setting. read more

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