Apple Harnesses AI To Empower Accessibility Features In iOS

In keeping with their trend of helping specially-abled persons harness technology, Apple Inc last week announced its plans to make devices accessible to more than one billion people living with some kind of disability. "We build powerful assistive technologies into Mac to give people with physical limitations more ways to be creative and productive," said the company in a statement. For the visually impaired, VoiceOver screen reader describes exactly what’s happening on your screen and lets you navigate using gestures or a braille display. Zoom gives you a powerful built-in magnifier. You can also make adjustments to cursor size, motion and contrast to meet your specific vision needs. For the hearing impaired, “Type to Siri” lets you make commands and ask questions with your keyboard. FaceTime is a great way to communicate through sign language. And instead of audible alerts, your Mac can flash its screen whenever an app needs your attention. For persons with physical limitations, Switch Control lets you navigate what’s on your screen with a single tap, and it works with switches, joysticks, head-tracking hardware and other adaptive devices. Features like Sticky Keys, Slow Keys and Mouse Keys let you adjust interaction sensitivities. And the customisable onscreen keyboard has full Dwell support. For learning better, Apple's Text to Speech adds auditory reinforcement to books, websites or homework assignments. Word Completion helps boost vocabulary and word-building skills. And Dark Mode makes it easier to focus on the task or project at hand. A news wire reported that India has one of the most vibrant and exciting iOS developer communities who have already created nearly 100,000 apps for the App Store worldwide, who have accessibility on top of their minds. Over 700,000 app economy jobs can be attributed to iOS ecosystem in India alone.