By Jane Sandwood
In December 2020, Apple took a step to prove its commitment to accessibility: it launched a complete redesign of its accessibility website, Apple.com/accessibility, organizing it around four key areas: vision, hearing, cognition and mobility.
Apple also provided advice on how to use features developed for specific devices, while also uploading videos regarding accessibility features to its YouTube channel. The website is just one of many steps Apple has taken to ensure its devices, apps, websites and channels are able to reach as wide an audience as possible. This makes sense considering the fact that in the U.S. alone, an estimated 48.9 million people are living with a disability.
Latest Apple Accessibility features
Just a few features that are making Apple devices and apps easier to use for people with disabilities include People Detection (which uses a Lidar sensor to detect how close people are, thus allowing those with visual disabilities to maintain the space they need). Another is the Magnifier feature, which enables iPhone users to view items in a magnified size by tapping the phone.
Other features are aimed at education and training. Apple’s Swift Playgrounds, for instance, uses a guiding voice (over) to help people with visual impairments learn programming and software development. Apple’s VoiceOver feature not only narrates Swift Playgrounds, but also allows users to take photographs or negotiate an urban transportation system by themselves. This feature can also tell users where an animated character is located by stating exactly where it is on a grid.
Incorporating the principles of WCAG accessibility
The WCAG Guidelines essentially stipulate the different levels of accessibility that businesses must achieve, with many choosing to meet AA standards. These stipulate that accessible e-commerce content must be perceivable, operable, robust (i.e. capable of being interpreted or translated by different technologies and screens), and understandable. The latter aims at aiding those who are cognitively impaired. Apple’s accessibility site explains how different features can make online shopping and browsing more amenable to those with cognitive challenges.
For instance, content should be tidy; text should be clear and easy to read, and be presented against a high-contrast background; and descriptive alt text and captions should be used for all images, video and audio. Specific Apple features that can improve the online shopping and surfing experience include Hover Text (to quickly boost the size of chosen words), Spoken Content (enabling users to go from text to speech), and Safari Reader (which removes ads, buttons and navigation bars for a clutter-free experience).
Going the extra mile
Apple has long enjoyed a reputation for cutting-edge features such as Braille support: iOS has a built-in Braille keyboard, and it supports Braille tables in over 25 languages. Apple has also updated its Apps for Accessibility collection with a wide array of new apps that are characterized by category (think vision or hearing). Apple also provides app developers with a wide range of tools that can be used to build accessible apps.
Examples include Overcast (a podcast containing a dark mode, which makes text easier to read), VoiceOver support, and Dynamic Type. Other accessibility apps to check out in the app store include Seeing Eye GPS (which provides intersection descriptions, important announcements, and more), Seeing AI (which puts text into voice, reads text and formatting, and provides information on products by scanning their barcodes), and the Rev Voice Recorder App (which invites users to record content it then transcribes at 99% accuracy).
Apple has long been a standard-bearer when it comes to accessibility. Its newly launched accessibility website demonstrates its commitment to all users in many ways. Cutting-edge features and apps such as VoiceOver and People Detection, meanwhile, are making both online and real-life more practical, more efficient, and safer for people with disabilities.
The accompanying image is courtesy of Unsplash.
