14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has announced a series of new accessibility improvements that are very likely to be part of iOS 16, the major operating system that will go live for all iPhones later this year.
The new features include Door Detection, Apple Watch Mirroring, and Live Captions
As its name suggests, Door Detection is a feature that will make it possible to detect a door and then describe its attributes to the user, with support to be offered on both iPhone and iPad.
“Door Detection can help users locate a door upon arriving at a new destination, understand how far they are from it, and describe door attributes — including if it is open or closed, and when it’s closed, whether it can be opened by pushing, turning a knob, or pulling a handle. Door Detection can also read signs and symbols around the door, like the room number at an office, or the presence of an accessible entrance symbol. This new feature combines the power of LiDAR, camera, and on-device machine learning, and will be available on iPhone and iPad models with the LiDAR Scanner,” Apple says.
Furthermore, Apple says it’s introducing Apple Watch mirroring, which is essentially a new capability that allows users to control the smartwatch remotely directly from an iPhone.
This way, users can rely on the accessibility features available on the iPhone, including Voice Control and Switch Control.
“With Apple Watch Mirroring, users can control Apple Watch using iPhone’s assistive features like Voice Control and Switch Control, and use inputs including voice commands, sound actions, head tracking, or external Made for iPhone switches as alternatives to tapping the Apple Watch display. Apple Watch Mirroring uses hardware and software integration, including advances built on AirPlay, to help ensure users who rely on these mobility features can benefit from unique Apple Watch apps like Blood Oxygen, Heart Rate, Mindfulness, and more,” Apple says.
As part of the update, VoiceOver also gets support for some 20 new languages, the Apple Books app is being updated with new themes, and Siri is being updated with pause time to adjust how long the assistant needs to wait before responding.