Ahead of World Accessibility Awareness Day on May 16, 2024, Apple has revealed a host of new features coming to iOS 18, macOS 15, and visionOS 2.0 in Fall 2024.
visions 2.0 gets microphone transcripts
As it has done before, Apple has promoted World Accessibility Awareness Day by giving a sneak peek of the iPhone’s accessibility features before they become available in iOS 18.
“We believe deeply in the transformative power of innovation to enrich lives,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. “That’s why for nearly 40 years, Apple has championed inclusive design by building accessibility into the core of our hardware and software.”
“We are continually pushing the boundaries of technology,” he continued, “and these new features reflect our long-standing commitment to providing the best possible experience to all of our users.”
New features include eye tracking, which will allow users to control their iPhones or iPads with their eyes. A new dwell control will allow users to activate buttons or swipe.
For deaf and hard-of-hearing users, Music Haptics will offer them a way to experience music. Apple says it reproduces refined touches, textures, and vibrations with music audio.
Apple also says this will work at launch with millions of songs on Apple Music. The Music Haptics Keynote USAI will be available for developers to use to make music more accessible in their applications.
Vocal shortcuts will then allow users to activate tasks not through spoken commands, but through specific sounds. Users can assign what Apple describes as “custom expressions” to functions in Siri.
In addition to this, a feature called Listen for Atypical Speech will use machine learning to help identify the user’s speech patterns. It is intended to help with conditions such as cerebral palsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or stroke.
When a vehicle changes direction or brakes, dots on the iPhone screen match the movement to help reduce motion sickness.
Additionally, new vehicle motion signals will help reduce motion sickness in moving vehicles. While using your iPhone or iPad, the devices will feature animated dots on the side of the screen, which move along with changes in the vehicle’s motion.
Apple says this helps because motion sickness is often caused by the difference between what someone sees and what they can feel. Therefore, tying the movement they feel into a clear but unobtrusive animated display should reduce it.
“Every year, we break new ground when it comes to accessibility,” said Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s senior director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives. “These new features will impact the lives of a wide range of users, providing new ways to communicate, control their devices, and move around the world.”
In addition to iOS, both visionOS and CarPlay will get new accessibility features. With Apple Vision Pro, that means system-wide live captions, for example.
For CarPlay, Apple is adding the ability to control apps with your voice. CarPlay is also gaining sound recognition, meaning car horns and sirens can optionally trigger notifications.
Commemoration of World Accessibility Awareness Day
In addition to announcing new features coming to iOS 18, Apple also announced that it will celebrate this year’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day in its stores and across its services. Throughout May, select Apple Stores, such as Apple Piazza Liberty in Milan, will host events.
The Apple TV App, Apple Books, Apple Fitness+, and Apple Podcasts will highlight the lives and works of disabled artists and writers.
Apple has a long history of accessibility, and this year’s announcements add to decades of life-changing features. More recently, a non-verbal woman with autism revealed how an iPad gave her her voice and led to a career as a worldwide speaker.
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