New accessibility features are headed for iPhone and iPad models later this year, including more personalized text-to-speech, enhanced magnifier, and more.
For the past several years, Apple has been working to make its products accessible to a broad spectrum of users, including people with disabilities. The last time Apple did this was back in 2022, when it introduced a bunch of accessibility-focused features for its devices. 2021 also saw similar initiatives from the company.
Among the accessibility-focused features previously announced by Apple included SignTime — which lets users communicate with AppleCare and customer care executives in sign language — and AssistiveTouch for watchOS. Almost two years since Apple’s last major accessibility-oriented update, the company is reiterating its commitment to the space by announcing new accessibility initiatives.
New features that Apple announced latest round of accessibility updates include Assistive Access (a feature tailor-made for people with cognitive disabilities), Live Speech (which lets users type what they want to say and let the phone read it out loud), and Personal Voice (which is an extension of Live Speech that allows users create a voice that sounds like them). In addition, the company also announced something called Detection Mode within the magnifier tool, which uses a function called Point and Speak to point out and read out loud words in the user’s physical surroundings.
Apple asserts that the new features previewed today would improve the overall experience for people with disabilities. What is also notable is the fact that most of these features are software-based updates that aim to improve cognitive, vision, hearing, and mobility accessibility for iPhone and iPad users across the globe.What is Apple’s Assistive Access feature?
Apple’s Assistive Access feature is an umbrella term for a set of accessibility-focused features aimed at simplifying the use of its products.
