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Apple unveils new accessibility features

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Re: Apple unveils new accessibility features

#41

Post by RobMurray »

mohsen1 wrote: post #6

Fun fact: This video was made accessible to sighted people because no blind person would ever listen to voice at that speed. Honestly if you ever observe a blind person using computers you'd impressed how they can listen to audio at unimaginable speeds.

I know plenty of blind people who have their voice speed unbearably slow and barely scratch the surface of what technology can do for them. I think an interface where you can tell your phone what to do in natural language will really help a lot of less technical people.

I'm not getting my hopes up though given apple's history with Siri, which is truly awful.

Re: Apple unveils new accessibility features

#42

Post by superchink »

ShinyLeftPad wrote: post #31
jofzar wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No they are saying that the audio playing for tts would be at like 2.4x what's in the commercial.

I don't get it. The speed of TTS can be adjusted, right? Pretty sure there's enough blind people who don't listen to voice at insane speeds, because they listen in their non-native second language or for whatever other reason. What's wrong in using lowest common denominator that's 100% accessible to those people as well as people who want faster speeds? Unlike "too fast", "too slow" doesn't get entirely inaccessible,…

I don’t think it’s meant to be criticism. It’s an interesting piece of information that gives a peek into how those with vision impairment consume content. There’s nothing wrong with it; but it was enlightening to consider the experience for those of us who have not been forced to.

Re: Apple unveils new accessibility features

#43

Post by postalrat »

Almondsetat wrote: post #24

I have difficulty trusting this. There are plenty of videos online of LLMs making up stuff like "I just ate a hot dog, is there mustard around my mouth?" "No, everything is clean" while there is a big yellow stain om the guy's face

Like coding, creating images or text, maybe the alternative of doing it yourself is too easy or enjoyable for you. Don't expect that will be true for everyone.

Re: Apple unveils new accessibility features

#45

Post by isityettime »

ShinyLeftPad wrote: post #31
jofzar wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No they are saying that the audio playing for tts would be at like 2.4x what's in the commercial.

I don't get it. The speed of TTS can be adjusted, right? Pretty sure there's enough blind people who don't listen to voice at insane speeds, because they listen in their non-native second language or for whatever other reason. What's wrong in using lowest common denominator that's 100% accessible to those people as well as people who want faster speeds? Unlike "too fast", "too slow" doesn't get entirely inaccessible,…

> Pretty sure there's enough blind people who don't listen to voice at insane speeds, because they listen in their non-native second language or for whatever other reason.

Yes, for lots of reasons. It takes practice to get up to a high speed with a given TTS. People who go blind later in life are just beginning, and it can take a long time for them to get up to really high speeds. You may also need to reset somewhat when you change from one TTS to another. And blind people's ears are subject to problems just like anyone else's; if your hearing isn't great you may need slower speeds or higher volumes or both. That's why even though most people use screenreaders at much higher speeds, the defaults when you turn on a new device are painfully slow. You have to set a conservative default so people with less experience/worse ears/whatever can get by.

Anyway I don't think it's a criticism. It's just noting that it doesn't depict how most people will use end up using it, and if you're curious about what typical usage sounds like, you should look for another example.

Re: Apple unveils new accessibility features

#46

Post by mistersquid »

> A new power wheelchair control feature leverages the precision eye-tracking system on Apple Vision Pro to offer a responsive input method for compatible alternative drive systems. [0]

The above caption for Apple Vision Pro is for a video that to me, as an Apple Vision Pro user, is discomforting.

More questions are raised than are answered by the short video: Is the user able to fit the Apple Vision Pro by him/herself? What happens when dwelling on a directional control misregisters? Can the user recalibrate the "Eyes and Hands" setting? Dwelling on a control displaces focus and there may be impeding objects in the path of the power wheelchair. Is this really a good idea?

To my sensibility, the video is unsettling (at best), especially given how cumbersome Apple Vision Pro is.

[0] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/05/apple-unveils-new-acc...

Re: Apple unveils new accessibility features

#47

Post by ShinyLeftPad »

superchink wrote: post #42
ShinyLeftPad wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get it. The speed of TTS can be adjusted, right? Pretty sure there's enough blind people who don't listen to voice at insane speeds, because they listen in their non-native second language or for whatever other reason. What's wrong in using lowest common denominator that's 100% accessible to those people as well as people who want faster speeds? Unlike "too fast", "too slow" doesn't get entirely inaccessible,…

I don’t think it’s meant to be criticism. It’s an interesting piece of information that gives a peek into how those with vision impairment consume content. There’s nothing wrong with it; but it was enlightening to consider the experience for those of us who have not been forced to.

Seems like I brought my own negativity into this...

Re: Apple unveils new accessibility features

#48

Post by kochb »

ShinyLeftPad wrote: post #22
mohsen1 wrote: post #6

Fun fact: This video was made accessible to sighted people because no blind person would ever listen to voice at that speed. Honestly if you ever observe a blind person using computers you'd impressed how they can listen to audio at unimaginable speeds.

Blind people can't change video speed? The control is available right there.

Yes, the audio speed can be adjusted.

Whether that control you see visually is actually accessible to a blind user is a different matter entirely. Further, it maxes out at 2x, but a blind person would typically screen read at the equivalent of 3-6x.

Re: Apple unveils new accessibility features

#49

Post by bilbo0s »

JimDabell wrote: post #38
bilbo0s wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's be honest, compare the amount of money a corporation can make helping visually impaired people to the amount of money they can make replacing software developers and financial analysts. Don't get me wrong, Apple using these technologies to help humans who are in need of help is laudable. But let's not pretend we don't know why most corporations don't look into this kind of thing. I think if we're being honest,…

Tim Cook has been pretty clear where he stands: > “When we work on making our devices accessible by the blind,” he said, “I don’t consider the bloody ROI.” It was the same thing for environmental issues, worker safety, and other areas that don’t have an immediate profit. The company does “a lot of things for reasons besides profit motive. We want to leave the world better than we found it.” — https://www.forbes.com/s…

Again, it's absolutely great that Apple does these things!

I was just answering the question of why other corporations don't.

Money.

There's relatively little money in helping the visually impaired. You have to do it because you want to do it. Not because you're going to get rich.

Re: Apple unveils new accessibility features

#50

Post by lwkl »

testfrequency wrote: post #35

I don’t want to discredit more advancements in accessibility, but this feels like accessibility porn. I have fond memories of an old coworker 10 years ago who is blind. He would use his phone no problem, texting, going about his day, he was even on Tinder (credit to Tinder for making their app so accessible long ago). He would commute on his own, walk to the train station, even transfer to another train during peak r…

I mean even if it is marketing for them they still did the work and developed these features. I had some vision issues recently and was glad there were options to make text more legible to me.

Additionally I don't believe this is just marketing. This is adaption to a changing market. Apple's customer base is aging and having these kinds of features will allow them to keep using Apple products for a longer.

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