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.”
Apps
Sonos introducing its own voice-activated digital assistant on June 1
The new service, called Sonos Voice Control, is focused on controlling media content and the company’s devices, rather than serving up information in the style of Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri. Still, it marks an ambitious expansion for a company best known for sound bars and other audio accessories.
Microsoft adding accessibility features to Windows 11
Last year, Microsoft announced a commitment to closing the disability divide and to work toward improving educational employment opportunities for people with disabilities around the world. The Windows 11 launch, last fall, included a whole host of accessibility improvements, such as appealing sound schemes, closed caption customizations, and a more responsive and flexible experience for working with assistive technologies and accessibility.
City launches app for residents with mobility issues to book accessible rides
City of Winnipeg launches app for residents with mobility issues to book accessible cab rides.
Researchers develop 3D printed bracelet to use computers and play video games
Australian researchers are developing a 3D printed bracelet to allow people living with hand-impairment to easily use computers and play video games.
Google testing technology for athletes with blindness exercise unassisted
Athletes living with blindness regularly put their trust in sighted counterparts to guide their every footstep as they run across pathways they cannot see. But Google is developing technology that could one day allow these runners to exercise independently.
How to Enable Headphone Notifications on iPhone
The Headphone Notifications feature notifies you if you’ve been listening to loud audio via headphones by analyzing your headphone audio levels, and checks if you’ve reached the recommended 7-day audio exposure limit. This is a feature that some users may really want to enable, while other users may not want the headphone notifications and wish to turn them off.
Spacefelt releases labeling solution for the visually impaired
Vision loss can have a significant impact on one’s ability to perform even the basic tasks. Simple activities such as picking the right condiments from the kitchen cabinet, identifying medicines, reading the numbers on a credit card, or picking matching clothes, at most times, require the assistance of a sighted person. The startup, Grailmaker Innovations has developed Spacefelt, a tagging and labelling app for persons with visual impairment. Using it, the user can tag, label and identify objects around them independently.
Microsoft mobile app is making bus stops more accessible
A team at Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass Eye and Ear, led by Associate Professor Gang Luo, has been focusing on vision assistive technology for over a decade, running research studies on technology development, intervention, evaluation, and human factors in mobility for people who are blind or low vision. While transit agencies have a mandate to improve accessibility to public transportation as part of the Americans with Disability Act, opportunities exist to improve existing technologies and further remove barriers. Developing a cost-effective tool was paramount for the team in their aim to make bus stops more accessible and easily identifiable to all.
Twitter introducing CC button for captions on videos for iOS and Android
Twitter said on Friday it is testing a new “CC” button to turn captions on and off on videos with captions available. The feature is rolling out to some users on iOS and will be coming “soon” to Android, the company says.
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