Accessibility improvements in technology are highlighted at Google’s and Apple’s recent developer conferences
.png "Logo of Apple and logo of Google above a word 'accessible' which previously was inaccessible - having part 'in' erased from it .")
Recently, both Google and Apple held their annual developer conferences where they revealed new software and launched new hardware. Within the new software reveals were big improvements and projects related specifically to the accessibility of their technology. The opportunities, both socially and economically, in designing with accessibility in mind do not seem to be overlooked by the larger technology companies where they can profit on making their devices and services more accessible while also using the same initiatives to improve the quality of their offerings to all of their customers. Similarly, we recently saw Microsoft introduce an accessory for their Xbox console to allow people with disabilities to create and adapt controllers to fit their specific needs. You can find more information on this controller on the Xbox website here.
Google’s I/O conference was held at the beginning of May and they introduced a huge amount of exciting new accessibility features coming to many of their platforms. Some of the highlights include:
- Google Lens text-to-speech – The Google Lens app will be able to read use a phone’s camera to see text, read it aloud and even translate it into the user’s own language;
- Live Transcribe – This app will help people who are deaf to “hear”. It works by live transcribing everything it hears so everyone can follow a conversation and reply;
- Live Caption & Live Relay – Live Caption will listen to any video playing on your device and add captions in real-time while Live Relay will allow users to turn a phone call into a chat-like experience on screen;
- Project Euphonia – Probably the most interesting and incredible of the new feature is Project Euphonia which is meant to help people suffering from ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), people who have had a stroke and people with speech impediments, to communicate. Google uses machine learning to turn hard to understand speech and facial expressions into text so that people can have conversations.
At the beginning of June Apple held their WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) event and presented some new accessibility features coming to iOS, iPadOS and MacOS later this year. The features they showed included;
- Differentiate with Colour – This setting will replace user interface elements, that use solely colour as identifiers, with alternatives like symbols in order to help people with colour-blindness;
- Cross-fade Transitions – Users can activate a new setting for iPhones and iPads to replace the screen animations with a new dissolving cross-fade transition so it is less jarring for users with motion sensitivity;
- Mouse Support – iPhones and iPads will allow a USB or Bluetooth mouse to be connected so that users, who find it difficult to interact with a touch display directly, can use their devices with a peripheral;
- Hover Text – MacOS has a new function where users can place the cursor over a selection of text and get a bubble with the text enlarged to make it easier to read;
- Voice Control – Users of all Apple’s software can now control their devices with advanced dictation capabilities to “show numbers” to identify all the controls on the screen or “show grid” to perform click, tapping or zooming functions on the device.
These new software improvements and research from both companies are going a long way to making technology and devices more accessible to more people. These advances also play a part to opening up and improving features for everyone with better speech recognition across the board thanks to machine learning and Google’s Project Euphonia. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace and it is great to see that accessibility is being considered in the future devices and software that some of the largest companies in the world are producing.
If you have any queries on how the accessibility of your products or services can include a Universal Design ethos to help your customers and your business, you can contact a member of our team on (01) 415 12 85 or e-mail [email protected]
