New Accessibility Features Coming to Apple Devices

On Tuesday, Apple previewed new accessibility features coming to the iPhone, iPad, and other devices to help people with disabilities.

The features cover a wide range of disabilities, but the main ones are Door Detection for people with vision challenges, Apple Watch Mirroring for people who have physical difficulties, and Live Captions for those who have hearing impairments. Apple provided no exact release date for the features, but the company confirmed they would be releasing throughout 2022 via software updates.

Door Detection is a new mode coming to Apple's Magnifier app. As the name suggests, the feature helps people find the door and how far they are it, and describes various attributes of the door. These attributes include if the door is open or closed as well as how to open it.

Apple Watch Mirroring lets you remotely control an Apple Watch with a paired iPhone. When connected, you use Voice Control and various on-phone switches in lieu of tapping on the Apple Watch. There will also be Quick Actions, which are basic hand gestures to control an Apple Watch. The example given is using a pinching gesture to answer calls.

Live Captions will appear on iPhone, iPad, and Mac to transcribe audio from video calls or social media apps. The font size can be adjusted for easier reading. Apple said since Live Captions are generated on the device itself, it all stays private.

Apart from the main features, Apple still had several others, including Siri Pause Time which can change the amount of time Siri takes before answering. And Apple Books will be introducing new customization options, like adjusting word spacing, to make ebooks easier to read.