Accessibility at WWDC: Dwell Control, Taptic Time, Software TTY, and More

[MacRumors]

Apple on Tuesday hosted a WWDC 2016 session called What's New in Accessibility that provided an overview of new assisitive technologies and features added to iOS 10, macOS Sierra, tvOS 10, and watchOS 3.

Physical and Motor Skills

Switch Control can now be used to interact with the tvOS interface using a single physical button, such as a switch on a wheelchair. There is both a cursor interface that highlights elements on the screen and an alternative interface with an on-screen remote. Accessibility users that already use Switch Control with an iOS device or Mac can automatically use the function on tvOS without re-pairing a switch.

Dwell Control is a new feature for macOS Sierra that enables users to control the cursor on Mac using assistive technologies and hardware like a headband with reflective dots or eye movements. When the cursor dwells on a certain location, a timer appears that expires and invokes a mouse click or other customizable actions.

Vision

Apple has made display and color adjustments and introduced the option to tint the entire display on Mac, Apple TV, and iOS devices, which can significantly increase contrast and reading ability.

Taptic Time is a new VoiceOver feature on watchOS 3 that uses a series of distinct taps from the Taptic Engine to help someone tell time silently and discreetly.

Magnifier is a new systemwide iOS 10 feature that enables users to use the camera to magnify objects in their physical environment. Various color filters, such as grayscale and inverted grayscale, are supported to increase contrast.

Hearing

iOS 10 allows for Software TTY calls to be placed without any additional hardware. The calls work with legacy TTY technology and make it easy to dial a non-TTY number through your carrier's relay service. There are also built-in TTY-specific QuickType keyboard predictions.

Learning

iOS 10 has a number of enhancements designed to help people with dyslexia. There are improvements to Speak Selection and Speak Screen to help people better understand text that has already been entered, and there is new audio feedback for typing to help people immediately catch mistakes.

Learn more by watching the What's New in Accessibility video or reading the slideshow.

Article Link: Accessibility at WWDC: Dwell Control, Taptic Time, Software TTY, and More

 

[iTom17]

You can say what you want, but Apple is still and will always be leader in accessibility.

 

[PowerBook-G5]

Could someone running the iOS 10 beta on an iPhone 5 (or other 32-bit device) check to see that the Color Filters feature works?

Edit: I feel like, if it does work on 32-bit devices, and works as I believe it does, it could function like a f.lux/Night Shift function for older devices.

 

[Jozone]

You can say what you want, but Apple is still and will always be leader in accessibility.

I love Apple and all -- but I don't think this is necessarily true. Until you actually need accessibility features, or have a family member or close friend who needs them, I can understand how it would seem like Apple is at the forefront. Things like Tobii's Gaze technology have only be feasible via Windows.

 

[jonnysods]

I think this is amazing. When they demoed the AW and it counting movements for people using wheelchair, that kind of blue me away and I was really happy they did all that work so anyone can use and enjoy their AW.

 

[Max Portakabin]

I think this is amazing. When they demoed the AW and it counting movements for people using wheelchair, that kind of blue me away and I was really happy they did all that work so anyone can use and enjoy their AW.

Don't worry, the 0.5% of Apple users that are geeks will be along to say this is all pointless and helping impaired people is a waste of time.

I'm no Cook fan but he genuinely cares about this stuff and it's filtering down to the engineers.

It needs some sensible tweaks - such as the home button - but iOS 10 looks amazing so far.

 

[Futurix]

Don't worry, the 0.5% of Apple users that are geeks will be along to say this is all pointless and helping impaired people is a waste of time.

Excuse me? What a horrible generalisation!
I am a geek and I support additional accessibility as much as I can! (and not just in computing)

Most of us will have health issues at some point in our lives that will make accessibility features useful - be it advanced smartphone software or perhaps wheelchair-accessible transit and housing.

 

[2457282]

This is all good, and I totally expect to be using the magnifier. My eyes are not what they used to be.

 

[0029937]

Thanks for doing this type of round up. The wife is a Occupational Therapist so anything related to this type of stuff (especially Apple Watch) I send to her right away. She sees huge potential in the very near future for people with physical disabilities to have huge improvements in the quality of their life because of these new technologies. Exciting times!

 

[jlc1978]

Thanks for doing this type of round up. The wife is a Occupational Therapist so anything related to this type of stuff (especially Apple Watch) I send to her right away. She sees huge potential in the very near future for people with physical disabilities to have huge improvements in the quality of their life because of these new technologies. Exciting times!

Not only that, but accessibility features can also be useful for other users as well; they just need to play with the and see how that can improve their experience as well. I, for example, use iOS's existing features to bring up a button the enables me to capture the screen, adjust volume or lock the screen without using the physical buttons because my case makes using them difficult. I could get a different case but that would mean giving up the protection of my existing Tactik case.

It's like etc wheel chair cutouts at intersections, it makes it easier to drag a rolling suitcase around in cities because I don't have to drag it over a curve at each crosswalk.

 

[Karma*Police]

Don't worry, the 0.5% of Apple users that are geeks will be along to say this is all pointless and helping impaired people is a waste of time.

I'm no Cook fan but he genuinely cares about this stuff and it's filtering down to the engineers.

It needs some sensible tweaks - such as the home button - but iOS 10 looks amazing so far.

I don't think it's just Cook. Apple has a long history of going above and beyond with accessibility features, even under Jobs.

 

[meitnik]

About 7 months ago I reported a lot of voice command/control bugs (does Siri handle menus/button/tabs); the fact you still can't adjust the system fontsize for various UI elements (safari tabs, labels for elements, etc.); finally improved visual contrast of light grey against a dark grey panels used through out the UI. I am tired of fighting with the tiny font sizes!!! Oh, and has zoom finally been updated after 10 yrs!! (currently its a dumb brute force scaling; not using Metal tech at all!) Thank you.

 

[MH01]

wondered why this was not written for each of the OS , this article explains that , each one got a feature or two, so easier to combine it all

 

[PR1985]

I think this is amazing. When they demoed the AW and it counting movements for people using wheelchair, that kind of blue me away and I was really happy they did all that work so anyone can use and enjoy their AW.

Amazing, no, but it was about time. I as I`m sitting in a wheelchair hoped for that feature even before the release of the Watch. But now I´m happy that it is coming to my AW soon. Also the Home Kit App will be a help for me in the future.

 

[AdeFowler]

Amazing, no, but it was about time. I as I`m sitting in a wheelchair hoped for that feature even before the release of the Watch. But now I´m happy that it is coming to my AW soon. Also the Home Kit App will be a help for me in the future.

Me too. I might finally buy an Watch later this year. The Breath app looks interesting as well.

 

[PR1985]

Me too. I might finally buy an Watch later this year. The Breath app looks interesting as well.

If you haven`t chosen a band yet. I first wanted the Milanaise band, the Problem here for me is, it is magnetic all over, so I decided to buy my AW with the Leather Loop band. I don´t know how well you can use your hands. I made a try-on at an Apple Store, before I bought mine.

 

[jonnysods]

Amazing, no, but it was about time. I as I`m sitting in a wheelchair hoped for that feature even before the release of the Watch. But now I´m happy that it is coming to my AW soon. Also the Home Kit App will be a help for me in the future.

Have you tried other phones? Did Android have anything like this? That's not a jab that's a real question.

 

[PR1985]

Have you tried other phones? Did Android have anything like this? That's not a jab that's a real question.

No. I´ve had a normal mobile first and then started with an iPhone 5 when T-Mobile Germany excepted pre-orders. Now iP 6 +AW SS. I mean the Activity "option" for people in a wheelchair.

 

[memco]

Looking forward to the new magnifier. My photo library is littered with pictures of things I needed to see better. That said, I'm wondering if it allows you to freeze frame it. Sometimes I take a picture of something I don't want to hold or is not in my control. May still revert to pics for that.

 

[AdeFowler]

If you haven`t chosen a band yet. I first wanted the Milanaise band, the Problem here for me is, it is magnetic all over, so I decided to buy my AW with the Leather Loop band. I don´t know how well you can use your hands. I made a try-on at an Apple Store, before I bought mine.

I've got rubbish hands (cerebral palsy), so I would probably go and try some in store.

 

[PR1985]

I've got rubbish hands (cerebral palsy), so I would probably go and try some in store.

Do that. I still need someone who puts the watch on my wrist but at least I`m able to adjust the strap myself, if it is necessary and to take it off. In the end I said: Well, I need Leather Loop so I can buy an SS with Saphire glass instead of the Sport Edition + another strap. To be honest, I never wanted an Watch Sport.