(Credit: Apple)
Apple has announced a new set of accessibility features for its devices, including a Vision Pro update that lets users control compatible wheelchairs with eye movements.
The new features are set to roll out later this year, and some are powered by Apple Intelligence. “With Apple Intelligence, we are bringing powerful new capabilities into our accessibility features while maintaining our foundational commitment to privacy by design,” says Apple CEO Tim Cook.
For wheelchair support, the Vision Pro will use its precision eye-tracking system to record directional inputs. In a promotional video, Apple shows that a wearer can move their wheelchair in eight directions and stop or pause its motion using eye movements.
(Credit: Apple)The feature will benefit those unable to operate a power wheelchair’s joystick, Apple says. Since the feature uses Vision Pro’s eye-tracking, it will work in various lighting conditions and won’t require frequent calibration, the company adds.
At launch, Vision Pro’s wheelchair control will be supported by Tolt and LUCI alternative drive systems in the US. Support for more wheelchairs will be added in the future.
VoiceOver, Magnifier, and Voice Control Get AI Smarts
(Credit: Apple)VoiceOver, a feature that reads out screen contents to help people with low vision navigate their iPhones, is getting smarter with Apple Intelligence.
The Image Explorer in VoiceOver will soon provide more detailed descriptions for photographs, scanned bills, personal records, and other visual content. With an update to Live Recognition, users will also be able to press the Action Button to launch the camera and ask questions about what’s in their camera viewfinder. They can also ask follow-up questions.
Magnifier, an app that allows people to use their phone camera to zoom in on objects or text in front of them, will soon provide better descriptions for high-contrast app interfaces or websites in voice mode. Users will also be able to use the Action Button to ask questions and provide voice commands such as “zoom in” or “turn on flashlight.”
With Voice Control, an accessibility feature that allows users to scroll or tap items on their screen using voice commands, users will soon be able to "describe onscreen buttons and controls with natural language instead of memorizing exact labels or numbers,” according to Apple. For example, they could just say “tap the purple folder” instead of the folder name to open it.
AI Subtitles for Personal Videos
(Credit: Apple)While most streaming content comes with closed captions or subtitles by default, personal videos you receive from friends and family do not. To help people who are deaf or hard of hearing understand video content better, Apple will use on-device speech recognition to add subtitles to uncaptioned videos on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro. Appearance of the captions will be modifiable from device Settings.
Other accessibility improvements announced by Apple include expanded text support for Accessibility Reader and Larger Text support on tvOS. Apple is also rolling out three new variants for the triangular Hikawa iPhone grip launched last year.