Apple Previews New Accessibility Features Coming Later This Year, Including Door Detection and More Languages, Locales, and Voices for VoiceOver

By AppleVis, 17 May, 2022

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Ahead of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on Thursday 19 May, Apple has previewed new accessibility features that will be coming to its platforms later this year.

Of particular note for blind and low vision users is Door Detection on supported iPhones and iPads, which will enable you to navigate the last few feet to your destination. Apple will also be expanding support for VoiceOver with over 20 new languages and locales.

Apple says that Door Detection “can help users locate a door upon arriving at a new destination, understand how far they are from it, and describe door attributes — including if it is open or closed, and when it’s closed, whether it can be opened by pushing, turning a knob, or pulling a handle.”

Door Detection will also be able to read signs and symbols around the door. Apple gives the room number at an office, or the presence of an accessible entrance symbol as examples. Additionally, it should be able to identify and speak such things as a store name, opening hours, fire exit symbols, and the material construction and colour of the door. Users will have the option to disable the announcements of some of these types of information to suit their circumstances and use case.

When your device detects that a door is nearby, Door Detection can let you know using sound, speech, and haptic feedback.

Door Detection combines the power of LiDAR, camera, and on-device machine learning, and will be available in a new Detection Mode within the Magnifier app on iPhone and iPad models with the LiDAR Scanner.

A new feature coming to Apple Maps will be sound and haptic feedback for VoiceOver users to identify the starting point for walking directions.

Apple is adding support for more than 20 additional locales and languages to VoiceOver, including Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

Additionally, there are to be “dozens” of new voices available which Apple says are optimized for assistive features across languages” and will also be available for Speak Selection and Speak Screen accessibility features.

Apple states that “VoiceOver, Speak Selection, and Speak Screen will add support for Arabic (World), Basque, Bengali (India), Bhojpuri (India), Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Farsi, French (Belgium), Galician, Kannada, Malay, Mandarin (Liaoning, Shaanxi, Sichuan), Marathi, Shanghainese (China), Spanish (Chile), Slovenian, Tamil, Telugu, Ukrainian, Valencian, and Vietnamese.”

VoiceOver users on Mac are to get new Text Checker tool to discover common formatting issues such as duplicative spaces or misplaced capital letters, which Apple says will make “proofreading documents or emails even easier.”

Another new accessibility feature will see the introduction of Live Captions on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This will auto-transcribe any audio on your device, including phone calls, FaceTime, videos, and conversations that you may be having with a nearby person.

Users can adjust the font size of Live Captions for ease of reading.

Live Captions in FaceTime attribute auto-transcribed dialogue to call participants, which Apple says Should make group video calls more convenient.

. When Live Captions are used for calls on Mac, users have the option to type a response and have it spoken aloud in real time to others who are part of the conversation.

Live Captions will be accessible to deaf-blind users who use a braille display with their device.

Additional New Features

  • With Apple Watch Mirroring, users can control Apple Watch from their paired iPhone, with the option to use iPhone’s assistive features like Voice Control and Switch Control as alternatives to tapping the display.
  • With Buddy Controller, users can ask a care provider or friend to help them play a game; Buddy Controller combines any two game controllers into one, so multiple controllers can drive the input for a single player.
  • With Siri Pause Time, users with speech disabilities can adjust how long Siri waits before responding to a request.
  • Voice Control Spelling Mode gives users the option to dictate custom spellings using letter-by-letter input.
  • Sound Recognition can be customized to recognize sounds that are specific to a person’s environment, like their home’s unique alarm, doorbell, or appliances.
  • The Apple Books app will offer new themes, and introduce customization options such as bolding text and adjusting line, character, and word spacing for an even more accessible reading experience.

Apple gives no firm dates for when these new features will be available, but it is expected that they will come with iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, watchOS 9, and tvOS 16 this fall.,

To further mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple is offering special sessions, curated collections, and more:

  • SignTime will launch in Canada on May 19 to connect Apple Store and Apple Support customers with on-demand American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters. SignTime is already available for customers in the US using ASL, the UK using British Sign Language (BSL), and France using French Sign Language (LSF).
  • Apple Store locations around the world are offering live sessions throughout the week to help customers discover accessibility features on iPhone, and Apple Support social channels are showcasing how-to content.
  • The Accessibility Assistant shortcut is coming to the Shortcuts app on Mac and Apple Watch this week to help recommend accessibility features based on user preferences.
  • This week in Apple Fitness+, trainer Bakari Williams uses ASL to highlight the features available to users that are part of an ongoing effort to make fitness more accessible to all, including Audio Hints, which are short descriptive verbal cues to support users who are blind or low vision, and Time to Walk and Time to Run episodes becoming “Time to Walk or Push” and “Time to Run or Push” for wheelchair users. Additionally, Fitness+ trainers incorporate ASL into every workout and meditation, all videos include closed captioning in six languages, and trainers demonstrate modifications in each workout so users at different levels can join in.

What do you think of these upcoming new accessibility features? Let us know by posting a comment below.

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Comments

By ming on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

it s will be cool.
I want to see more gaming accessibility build in IOS or Mac OS

By Amir on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

Well, this is something I'm mostly excited about if it materializes! Since Vocalizer already offers a Persian voice and JAWS also offers it, I sincerely hope Persian TTS support, finally and pleasantly, can find its way into VoiceOver. Let's see what comes next.

By Michael Feir on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

Having just finished writing the second edition of my guide for blind iPhone users, I'm actually happy not to see anything which would fundamentally change the VoiceOver experience too drastically. New languages and voices are always a good thing. Hopefully, the addition of Ukrainian will help blind people use iPhones and iPads more comfortably. Frankly, if they spend their development time doing a major exercise in eliminating bugs and making certain that things like Braille work reliably, it would be a good thing. We have to get to a place where people aren't worried about really basic stuff suddenly not working when they get an iOS update.
I'm also happy to hear about the accessible apps being highlighted in the app store. However, what I'd really like is a sustained effort to make finding out about accessible apps easier permanently. I don't begrudge people having apps so visual in nature that they're inaccessible to me as a blind user. However, I would very much like to have the apps which are accessible to VoiceOver be easier to find amid the millions of inaccessible apps. That, combined with a tutorial for VoiceOver users built right into iOS, would go a long way to reducing the learning curve for new blind owners of iPhones.

By Dennis Long on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

Apple innovates again while google could've had a nice thing with braille support built into the screenreader however if Jonathan Mosen is to be believed they yet again did it half baked. check out his most recent podcast to see what I'm talking about.

By KE8UPE on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

Holy cow!
I saw this on Twitter first, and am amazed at the things that are coming. I’m super excited for WWDC, and can’t wait to begin beta testing everything that’s new.

By Siobhan on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

I have a 12 and I don't have the kidar scanner, or that would be very helpful. i'm looking forward tot eh haptick feedback for walking directions. I'll check out WWDC soon.

By Ekaj on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

I can't wait for these new features. I'm on a family plan for my iPhone so I *think* I have to wait to upgrade, but all this new stuff will be amazing as usual.

By Dennis Long on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

This is why I spent the little extra and got a pro. I got the 13 pro. If you had the 12 pro it would work. If you are able to upgrade get the pro model. You will get all the new features.

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

Finally, a use for the lidar scanner. That is a legitimately useful feature. It sounds to me like a predecessor to something we'll have on them fancy Apple Glasses that may or may not be coming in the future, and if they can help scan my environment and do more than buzz whenever my cane accidentally sweeps slightly too far to the left, I will throw my money at them.

Now, I'm going to play a little whataboutism and ask they please for the love of all that is accesseable, fix. The. Focus. Bugs. Please.

By Holger Fiallo on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

Nice but apple is just throwing a bone for accessibility. Would like them to focus on bugs and fix issues with VO. If they need to restructure VO to work better be nice. Voices is great but if they continue to have issues what is the point? Apple need to star to address how bugs are reported regarding accessibility and address them. Braille bugs took almost a year to be address! Why? I do not use Braille but for those who do so for school, home or work is a must. Do not be happy with a bone no matter how juicy it is, still a bone.

By Karok on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

hi, wonder if the new voices will just be for the languages being added like bengali or english etc as well and from which company? apple don't even have all of the nuance voices that are available such as Malcom UK, Noel, Evan us etc. also, with doors i wonder, will it let you say find the same door, to get back out of the building?

By Chris on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

It's good the Mac is finally receiving some attention. I wonder how well this text checker feature will work? Hopefully they're also fixing bugs as well. I'd love to get a new Mac, provided of course Apple is dedicated to supporting VoiceOver and making it the best it can possibly be. Sadly, they weren't really demonstrating this in the 7 years I had a Mac that could get the latest updates, so I'm hesitant to jump back in. Believe me, I'd love to, but if we continue to receive sub-par accessibility compared to iOS, I refuse to do so.

By Amir on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

After so many iOS releases and such an elongated waiting time, Farsi support in VoiceOver really made my day! Really looking forward to it!

By sockhopsinger on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

Some of this sounds great. However, I don't think I am a fan of auto tarnscripts or "live captions" as Apple calls it. I will hold off judgment, but this better be an option that can be easily turned on or off and not on by default.

By Tristo on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

These new features sound great but I hope Apple also tries to fix some of the VO bugs.

By Ann Marie B on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

Hello all. I'm excited for new voices and also would like to turn the liv captioning feature on or off. Door detecction also sounds great. :)

By Missy Hoppe on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

I'm so glad I took the plunge and got the iPhone 13 pro. Sounds like that Lidar sensor is going to provide more and more benefits as time progresses. I'd be excited about the possibility of new voices, but from what I could tell, there aren't any exciting new voices for English. Very happy that so many new languages are being supported for those who need them, though.

By OldBear on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

I hope the text checker also comes to IOS at some point because I have a psychological issue against using Macs from reading comments on this forum. I won't have a phone with the door checker for a long while, so I'm glad someone else will be used to perfect it. No, the empty elevator shaft wasn't a door...

By Reginald George on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

Obviously Apple needs to level up Voiceover on the Mac, and fix Braille support everywhere. But the changes coming announced here like real time captioning and typing responses to voice callers are mind blowing For those who can’t hear or speak, they could be potentially life changing! Reading every phone call you make to a doctor or business, and having your typed thoughts spoken to the person on a call or group in Zoom with no need for someone to translate for you is huge. All this voice recognition tech is scary for privacy, but it keeps improving. All these improvements will raise the bar and awareness for the competition. Remember when companies were afraid to say the word accessibility? I also hope text checker comes to IOS. And being able to change how long Siri listens will help those who speak slowly to be heard)

By Maldalain on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

Oh is it really big thing to have text checker? JAWS has had this a decade ago.
Generally these are general Apple devices features and injected into accessibility. Apple has succeeded in providing so little and receive too much of applause.
If you ask me, I would be really in no hesitation to ask for the effort put into these trivial features to be implemented in squashing long standing bugs instead.
So, people, just come on! You are paying too much for what you are too grateful for.

By mcox on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

Will the door detection featurres be available on the iPhone SE, 3RD gen?
I would prefer to upgrade to that rather than the 13 pro, because the pro is massive!!! and I have no site, so... smaller is better?

By Dennis Long on Friday, June 10, 2022 - 13:59

no 13 pro or pro max. The pro isn't that big really.