GoKawiilApple is leveraging AI to boost its accessibility features.
The company shared a handful of updates on Tuesday designed to make its products more helpful for people with a range of disabilities. Apple Intelligence, the tech giant's suite of AI features, powers some of these new capabilities. The unveiling comes ahead of Global Accessibility Awareness Day on Thursday, which aims to bolster digital access and inclusion.
The updates are arriving for features like VoiceOver, Magnifier and video subtitles later this year. They come as more companies -- from Google to Microsoft to Amazon -- are harnessing AI to make their products and platforms accessible to a wider range of people. Many of Apple's updates build upon features it announced last year. They also come ahead of the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, which is scheduled for June 8 and is expected to usher in more AI updates.
VoiceOver and Magnifier support more detailed descriptions
Apple's VoiceOver and Magnifier features can describe on-screen information or real-world settings, and Apple Intelligence is pushing each to be more helpful.
VoiceOver is a screen reader that speaks aloud what's on your screen, and it can help people who are blind or have low vision navigate their device. Image Explorer in VoiceOver will now give more detailed descriptions of what's in objects like photographs, scanned bills and personal records.
And as part of an update to Live Recognition, you can use your iPhone's Action button to quickly gather more information about your surroundings. Just point the camera at what you want to learn more about and ask follow-up questions for additional details.
Magnifier can share more detailed information about what's on your screen and answer follow-up questions. Apple
Magnifier allows people who are low vision to zoom in, view high-contrast text and detect objects around them on an iPhone, iPad or Mac. Now, you can ask questions about what your camera is seeing. For instance, you can point your phone at a recipe and ask how many servings it yields or how long to bake for, and it'll find and share that information using large, high-contrast text.
Voice Control supports natural language
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