Apple’s latest update, iOS 18, will add a host of exciting features, with a strong emphasis on enhancing accessibility. These advancements are designed to improve user experience across the board, making technology more inclusive for everyone. The video below from Brandon Butch gives us more details on a range of new features coming to iOS 18. Let’s dive into the key highlights of iOS 18’s new features.
Vehicle Motion Cues
If you often experience motion sickness while using your device in a moving vehicle, you will be pleased to know that iOS 18 introduces Vehicle Motion Cues. This feature uses animated dots on the screen’s edges to represent changes in vehicle motion, helping to mitigate motion sickness for passengers.
Eye Tracking
A groundbreaking addition is the Eye Tracking capability. Utilizing AI and the front-facing camera, users can now navigate their iOS and iPadOS devices solely with their eyes. This feature is particularly beneficial for those with limited mobility, offering a hands-free way to interact with their devices.
Music Haptics
For music enthusiasts, Music Haptics offers a unique experience. This feature provides haptic feedback in sync with the beat of the music. While it is intended to assist the deaf or hard of hearing, it promises to be popular among all users who enjoy feeling the rhythm of their tunes.
Vocal Shortcuts
iOS 18 also introduces Vocal Shortcuts, enabling users to assign custom phrases to Siri. This allows for the execution of complex tasks with simple, personalized voice commands, enhancing the efficiency and customization of user interactions with their devices.
Atypical Speech
Apple has improved its speech recognition technology to better understand users with speech conditions such as cerebral palsy or ALS. This enhancement uses machine learning to adapt to unique speech patterns, making communication more seamless for those with atypical speech.
CarPlay Accessibility Features
CarPlay receives significant accessibility upgrades, including:
- Voice Control: Navigate and control CarPlay apps using voice commands.
- Sound Recognition Alerts: Alerts for car horns and sirens, ensuring safety on the road.
- Visual Adjustments: Options for color filters, bold text, and large text to aid colorblind and low-vision users.
VoiceOver Enhancements
VoiceOver, Apple’s screen reader, now includes:
- New Voices: A variety of new voice options.
- Flexible Voice Rotor: Enhanced navigation through customizable settings.
- Custom Volume Control: Individual volume adjustments for different apps.
- Keyboard Shortcuts: Personalized shortcuts for a smoother user experience.
Magnifier App
The Magnifier app sees significant improvements, adding a new reader mode for better text clarity and the ability to launch detection mode with the action button on newer iPhones. This makes it easier for users with visual impairments to read and interpret text and objects around them.
Hover Typing
Hover Typing is another accessibility enhancement, displaying larger text when typing in a text field. Users can customize this feature with their preferred fonts and colors, making typing more comfortable and accessible.
Live Speech and Live Captions Compatibility
For users with physical disabilities, iOS 18 allows simultaneous use of Live Speech and Live Captions. This feature enhances communication by providing real-time text representation of spoken words.
Virtual Trackpad for Assistive Touch
The new Virtual Trackpad feature for Assistive Touch allows users to control their device using a small, resizable region of the screen. This offers more precise control and is particularly useful for those with limited dexterity.
Switch Control Enhancements
iOS 18 leverages the iPhone and iPad cameras to recognize finger tap gestures as switches, offering a more intuitive and accessible way to interact with the device for users with physical impairments.
Braille Improvements
Apple has made significant updates to its Braille support, including new control and text editing options. The update also brings support for multi-line Braille displays and additional input/output tables, enhancing the experience for Braille users.
Personal Voice Enhancements
Users can now create personal voices using shortened phrases, with new support for Mandarin Chinese. This allows for a more personalized and inclusive communication experience.
Vision OS Accessibility
Vision OS receives several accessibility updates, including systemwide live captions, reduced transparency, smart invert, and dim flashing lights. These features make the operating system more user-friendly for individuals with visual impairments.
Summary
Many of these features will be available on older devices running iOS 18, although advanced functionalities like eye tracking may be exclusive to newer models.
These new iOS 18 features highlight Apple’s ongoing commitment to accessibility. By providing tools that benefit both users with disabilities and the general public, Apple continues to lead the way in making technology more inclusive. We will get our first look at the first beta of iOS 18 at Apple’s WWDC next month.
Source & Image Credit: Brandon Butch
Filed Under: Apple, Apple iPhone, Top News
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