Apple unveils 10 accessibility features for iPhone, iPad and Watch

Apple has announced new accessibility features for the iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch. The new features are intended for people with mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive impairments.

Apple comes with new accessibility features for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch

In celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple is introducing new accessibility features for people with physical disabilities. “We believe technology should be able to adapt to the needs of all our users,” the company said. Below we list the 10 new functions for you, which will be available later this year.

1 New background noise

To support neurodiversity, Apple is adding new background noise. The sounds are designed to keep distractions to a minimum. Think of noise, ocean and rain sounds. The sounds are played in the background to mask surrounding sounds or external noise.

2 AssistiveTouch on the Apple Watch

AssistiveTouch on the Apple Watch allows the watch to be used in the future without touching the screen. Thanks to the built-in motion sensors, optical heart rate sensor and machine learning, the smartwatch can detect subtle differences in muscle movements and tendon activity. These will control the watch by means of hand gestures.

3 Eye tracking on the iPad

iPadOS will support third-party eye-tracking devices later this year, allowing users to control their iPad with their eyes. Allowing third-party devices makes it easier for people with disabilities to use their current equipment for this purpose, instead of buying expensive new gear to use an iPad.

4 Apple SignTime

SignTime enables customers to communicate with AppleCare and retail customer service. This works using American Sign Language in the United States, British Sign Language (BSL) in the UK, or French Sign Language (LSF) in France. SignTime will be launched on May 20. It is not yet known whether the position will also come to the Netherlands.

5 New Memoji Features

There will be new memoji extensions to better display users with oxygen tubes, among other things. This ensures that more people can identify themselves with one of the virtual figures.

6 VoiceOver Enhancements

New enhancements to VoiceOver allow users to better format people, text, table data, and other objects from images. Also, Markup allows users to add image descriptions to personalize their photos.

7 Improvements to MiFi hearing aids

Apple is coming with support for bi-directional hearing aids, enabling hands-free calling and FaceTime calls in the future. The next generation of hearing aids from MFi partners will hit the market later this year.

8 Audiograms for headphones

The ‘Custom Headphones’ setting (found in your iPhone or iPad settings under Accessibility – Audio / Visual – Custom Headphones) will have support for audiograms, so users can adjust their audio based on their latest hearing test results.

9 Sound Actions for Switch Control

This feature replaces physical buttons and switches with mouth sounds – such as a click, pop, or beep. This can greatly help users who cannot speak, for example.

10 Text size and screen settings differ per app

The text size and screen settings can soon be adjusted per app, so that users with color blindness or other visual problems can see the screen better.

Learn more about these features at WWDC

Many of these features are likely to be available in iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and watchOS 8 Apple’s new operating systems for the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. The new software will be announced on June 7 at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).

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