Outside of the big spotlights, big announcements, and stunning photos iPhones can take each year, there’s one area where Apple is unrivaled. At least within the mass software industry. It is not something new, the company has always been characterized by open and accessible products, but with each generation of devices it has gone a step further.
That is why it is strange that an announcement like the one that today has come as a surprise and was not reserved for one of the big announcements of the year. The first of them, scheduled for this June at the annual developer conference, will bring great news that will have a great impact on the daily life of many people. Today’s, it will literally change the lives of a small group of people. Innovations, if possible, more important than the list of general news of the next iOS 16.
At the moment it is nothing more than a preview, a small glimpse that shows us what technology will be capable of changing the lives of many people. Apple has announced, again without major deployments, what is perhaps the most important list of improvements to its operating systems in the last five years.
The company has presented it as a previews from innovative software features that introduce new ways for users with disabilities to navigate, connect, But it is much more impressive than it seems at first glance. Put simply, these are new accessibility features that most users will not need to usebut for a small group it will be a great leap forward.
Your ad won’t take over big headlines or YouTube thumbnails, but they will change, when they become available later this year, the way many people use technology and their relationship with it. That is why they are so important, more than the possible redesign of the home screen of iOS 16, improvements in notification management or the possibility of third-party stores.
There are three great novelties, which are supported by other functions already available but that will make Apple devices a special value for those who have difficulties: Door detection, Voice Control Y SwitchControla new functionality that allows you to fully control the Apple Watch from the iPhone, for example.
LiDAR and triple camera to take more than just photos:
In the coming months, Apple will bring to its accessibility options something they have called Door Detector (Door detection). A functionality that will allow blind or visually impaired people Analyze your route in real time so that the iPhone alerts you when there is a door. And not only that, it will provide feedback to the user in real time to understand how far away they are from the door and describe the attributes of the door, including whether it is open or closed and, when closed, whether it can be pushed open or rotated.
In addition, this functionality is capable of reading signs and symbols around the door, such as the room number, the office number or the presence of an accessible entrance symbol. It works by combining two of the star technologies of recent years in the Pro range: the LiDAR radar that was first included in the iPad Pro of 2020 and is now present in the iPhone, the camera of the devices and machine learning of the device using the Neural technology of its chips.
Door detection works alone or in conjunction with other iOS features like person detection and image descriptions, and will make iPhone a complete guide for low-vision or blind users. Although these new options will be included within the Magnifier application, the truth is that Apple Maps will also be integrated It will also include some of these features: It will offer sound and haptic prompts for VoiceOver users to identify the starting point of the walking directions, which they can then continue with the other app.
AirPlay on the Apple Watch, but not for what you imagine
Another of the great accessibility features with which Apple wants to open its smartwatch to a broader user base is with an old feature: AirPlay. Under the name of Apple Watch Mirroringnew accessibility options will allow you to control Apple Watch remotely from the iPhone it’s paired with.
This will include the ability to use voice command inputs, sound actions, head tracking or external switches. Made for iPhone as alternatives use the screen of the Apple Watch. Thus, users who do not have the ability to interact with the Apple Watch screen will be able to use the System Apps.
Quick options on the Watch are also expanded, and now with a gesture you can answer or end a call, dismiss notifications, take photos or pause music, all with gestures without touching the screen.
And although these are the most spectacular, they are not the only ones. Some additional features that will allow more users with difficulties to use the iPhone or iPad. For example:
- Buddy Controller, a functionality that will allow the user to ask a friend to help them play a game; Buddy Controller combines two controllers as one.
- With Siri Pause Timeusers with speech disabilities can adjust how long Siri waits before responding to a request.
- Voice control spelling mode gives users the option to dictate custom spellings using letter-by-letter input.
- sound recognition can be customized to recognize sounds that are specific to a person’s environment, such as the alarm, doorbell, or unique appliances in your home.
- The application Apple Books It will offer new themes and introduce customization options, such as bold text and wrap lines, characters, and word spacing for an even more accessible reading experience.
We will see a lot of news from Apple at WWDC this year, but they will certainly not be as important as these.