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.”
iOS
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.
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.
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.
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.
How to make your iPhone read text out loud
An accessibility feature that is useful for everyone is Spoken Content. You can have your phone read out loud anything you have on-screen. This feature was designed for people who have trouble reading small text, but you will find it handy even if you don’t — in lots of situations.
How to Screen Record on your iPhone
A screen recording captures everything you normally see on your screen directly to a file. But instead of a still image, it’s a video that gets saved to your Photos library. Screen recordings are great for capturing errors or bugs in action, making tutorial videos, and more. Keep in mind that you can’t take a screen recording while mirroring your iPhone’s screen to another display. Otherwise, everything on the screen gets captured, including notifications.
DeafTawk empowers the hearing impaired overcome everyday challenges
In 2019, Wamiq Hassan, a computer engineer, and two of his friends Ali Shabbar and Abdul Qadeer, who are both visually impaired, co-founded the DeafTawk app to empower Pakistan’s deaf community.
Zoo Atlanta Launches AI Animal Assistant Guide for visitors
Zoo Atlanta has introduced the new AI-powered Animal Assistant to help visitors find and learn about its animals. The Animal Assistant was built by conversational AI developer Satisfi Labs, which plans to expand the platform to other zoos and aquariums around the country.
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