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Apple Introduces New Features For Cognitive Accessibility, Along With Live Speech, Personal Voice, And Point And Speak In Magnifier
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Apple today unveiled a range of software features focused on accessibility, including cognitive, vision, hearing, and mobility aids, as well as tools for nonspeaking individuals.
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These updates utilize advancements in hardware and software and incorporate on-device machine learning to safeguard user privacy.
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Apple's commitment to inclusivity drives the development of these features, with input from community groups representing diverse disabilities.
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Later this year, individuals with cognitive disabilities will benefit from Assistive Access, enhancing their independence and ease of use on iPhone and iPad.
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Nonspeaking users will be able to communicate during calls and conversations through Live Speech, which enables typing to speech functionality.
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Those at risk of losing their ability to speak can utilize Personal Voice to create a synthesized voice that sounds like their own, facilitating connection with loved ones.
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Apple's Magnifier app introduces Detection Mode, featuring Point and Speak, assisting users with blindness or low vision in interacting with physical objects.
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Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, emphasizes their commitment to technology that is accessible to all, enabling people to create, communicate, and pursue their passions.
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Sarah Herrlinger, Apple's senior director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives, highlights the inclusive design process involving disability community feedback.
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Assistive Access streamlines apps and experiences for individuals with cognitive disabilities, prioritizing essential functions such as communication and media consumption.
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A customized experience in Assistive Access includes a consolidated Calls app, high contrast buttons, large text labels, and options for visual or text-based layouts.
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The intellectual and developmental disability community anticipates that Assistive Access will open doors to education, employment, safety, and autonomy.
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Live Speech enables typing to speech functionality on multiple Apple devices, benefitting those who cannot speak or have lost their ability to do so.
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Personal Voice provides a secure way for individuals at risk of losing their speech, such as those with ALS, to create a synthesized voice that resembles their own.
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Users can record their Personal Voice by reading text prompts, and on-device machine learning keeps their information private and secure.
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Magnifier's Point and Speak feature aids users with vision disabilities, using a combination of camera input, LiDAR Scanner, and machine learning to announce text on objects.
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Deaf or hard-of-hearing users can directly pair Made for iPhone hearing devices with Mac and personalize them for optimal comfort.
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Voice Control now offers phonetic suggestions for text editing, assisting users who rely on voice input to select the correct words.
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Switch Control empowers users with physical and motor disabilities to turn any switch into a game controller for playing iPhone and iPad games.
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Apple's commitment to accessibility extends to improvements in Text Size adjustment, pausing animations for users sensitive to rapid movement, and natural-sounding Siri voices for VoiceOver users at various speech rates.