Technology

At Meta’s annual developer conference on Wednesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a prototype of new augmented reality glasses, showcasing the company’s latest venture into smart eyewear. In addition, Zuckerberg revealed that Meta AI will soon feature the ability to speak in the voice of Dame Judi Dench. Named Orion, the demo glasses—not yet available for consumer release—can overlay digital images of media, people, games, and communications onto the real world. Meta has positioned this product as a move beyond desktop computers and smartphones, offering eyewear capable of handling similar functions. Having believed in the accessibility potential of Meta’s existing Ray-Ban Meta smart eyewear from the very start, I’m genuinely excited about the company’s latest developments. The impressive d...

Apple is known for its attention to detail, but with iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, the company is making a significant leap in accessibility. The latest updates to Voice Control introduce much-needed enhancements that make the feature not just usable, but indispensable for disabled users who rely on voice dictation instead of using the keyboard. Understanding Voice Control While Siri enables basic text dictation on Apple devices, severely disabled people often require more comprehensive functionality. They need the ability to control their devices entirely by voice—whether that’s launching apps, dictating, editing text, or navigating their device. To address these needs, Apple introduced a powerful accessibility tool known as Voice Control. Debuting in 2019 with iOS 13 and macOS Catalina, Voic...

The Apple Watch Series 10 is generating excitement with its anticipated new features coming this autumn, but a significant accessibility issue remains unresolved. Let’s dive into what we can expect from the latest Apple Watch and why it’s crucial for Apple to address ongoing accessibility challenges. Larger screen and thinner design The latest Power On newsletter by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reveals that both Apple Watch Series 10 models will feature ultra-sized screens this year. The larger model’s screen will be almost as big as the Apple Watch Ultra, measuring around 2 inches compared to the Ultra’s 1.93 inches. Additionally, the Series 10 will be thinner, though its overall design will remain largely unchanged, according to Gurman. The expanded display will enhance visual clarity and mak...

As Apple prepares to launch new AI-infused operating systems at WWDC 2024 in a couple of days from now, it’s essential to consider what these advancements could mean for accessibility users. Current tech solutions for disabled people, while helpful, often fall short in delivering efficient and frustration-free communication. This blog post explores the potential of AI to transform technology and enhance the lives of those with severe and complex disabilities. Limitations of current accessibility technology Existing tech solutions that disabled people rely on for communication, such as Apple’s Voice Control, often fail to meet their needs effectively. These tools can be slow and inaccurate, disrupting the flow of conversation and causing significant frustration. I often struggle to dictate ...

As technology continues to evolve, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are at the forefront of integrating fashion with advanced functionality. Here are my top four feature requests for these innovative glasses. While these suggestions stem from accessibility needs, they have the potential to enhance the user experience for everyone. 1. Emoji support in messaging One of the exciting features that Meta should consider is the inclusion of support for emojis in messaging. Currently, the glasses can recognise and read emojis from received messages aloud, but there is no functionality to dictate emojis when composing your own messages. Adding this feature would make messaging more expressive and enjoyable. Emojis bring a touch of fun and colour to conversations, and their inclusion would enrich the ...

Last August, I published an article on The Register, drawing attention to a pressing issue affecting 250 million individuals globally: the inadequacy of voice recognition technology for those with non-standard speech. This is a significant challenge for individuals with conditions such as cerebral palsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), stroke survivors, and those with muscular dystrophy like myself. Despite advancements in AI and voice recognition, these technologies often fail to support those who need them most. In my Register piece, I outlined several critical issues with current voice recognition systems: Limited flexibility Many voice recognition systems are narrowly designed, failing to accommodate the varied speech patterns of users with non-standard speech. This has left many ...

The Apple Watch, often regarded as a symbol of cutting-edge technology, pledges to bring the future to our wrists. Yet, for those with severe upper limb disabilities, this future comes with a caveat. The challenge? Siri’s accessibility—or the lack thereof. Apple’s wizardry has made Siri smarter in recent times. With the voice assistant on your wrist, you can do everything from launching apps to replying to texts to setting alarms and reminders and much more. But waking Siri on the Apple Watch is a feat that remains out of reach for users with limited mobility. Here’s an exploration of this issue and potential solutions. Waking up Siri: a gesture too far Despite Apple’s efforts to enhance Siri’s capabilities on the Watch, the brutal truth is that for users like myself, activatin...

Apple’s press release for the new M3 MacBook Air launched this week described the machine as the “world’s best consumer laptop for AI.” The claim comes ahead of WWDC 2024, when the tech giant is expected to announce a raft of new artificial intelligence features across all of its platforms. Apple CEO Tim Cook has teased the company’s plans for new artificial intelligence (AI) announcements twice this year. Last month, he said Apple will share details on its AI work “later this year”, and during a shareholder meeting last week, Cook said that Apple will “break new ground” in generative AI this year. Faced with stiff competition from Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI, there is no doubt that Apple is working on a variety of new AI features for later this year, including a more powerful version of...

In iOS 17.4, currently in beta testing, there is a new option to set ‌Siri‌ to read incoming messages in a specific language like French, Spanish, German, and many more.The change does not update the primary language that ‌Siri‌ speaks in and responds to, but is limited to message playback. This is something I highlighted to Apple in an email last August citing an example of how adding other languages to Siri would be helpful. I have a Polish carer and we message in Polish but all my other contacts message me in English. This was causing issues with Siri and messaging. Obviously, I am delighted my plea hit the right spot at Apple! Siri message playback in a different language is not an accessibility feature per se, but I highlighted the problem to Apple as a result of an accessibility issu...

Siri has long been a game-changer for people with upper limb mobility issues, allowing voice control of a wide range of tasks on Apple devices like the iPhone. However, one frustrating user experience that I’ve highlighted regularly in the past is the “You need to unlock your iPhone first” roadblock that is common for a few crucial requests that Siri can help you perform, such as “read my messages”, “what’s next on my calendar”, etc In iOS 16, if my iPhone is locked, and stored in my wheelchair side pocket, I can’t take it out and unlock it to access my messages, and if I ask Siri to read my messages to me the assistant unhelpfully always says “You need to unlock your iPhone first”. Now in iOS 17, currently undergoing beta testing, there is a new Siri authentication system on AirPods...

As someone who has been using Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses all day every day for the past five months, (with added prescription lenses), I have been impressed with their ability to capture photos and videos, and chat and call hands-free without having to touch my smartphone. However, there are some areas where I think the smart glasses could be improved to make them even more convenient and accessible to use. Ray-Ban Stories are first generation smart glasses that have quickly become a popular choice among tech enthusiasts and fashion-forward individuals. Created through a collaboration between Meta (formerly Facebook) and EssilorLuxottica the company behind the Ray-Ban sunglasses brand, these glasses allow users to capture photos and videos, listen to music, and make calls and send messa...

After a lifetime living with the effects of the progressive muscle wasting condition muscular dystrophy I would describe my speech as non-standard because I don’t have the breath to speak long sentences, and when I am tired some words are occasionally slightly slurred. I also need to use a ventilator to help me breathe parts of each day, and wearing the accompanying nasal mask also affects my speech. It’s all meant that using on-device dictation on Apple and Android phones, as well as Dragon and Apple Voice Control dictation apps, which I rely on because I cannot take to the keyboard to type, can be frustrating when it comes to accuracy. I’m constantly having to correct and clear up annoying little errors with speech recognition in emails and WhatsApp messages etc, which ...