When the iPhone 4S was released everyone was talking about Siri, the new voice recognition program. Siri is your own virtual personal assistant, allowing you to perform a wide variety of tasks hands and eyes free. For instance, you can ask Siri what the weather is going to be and she’ll tell you to take an umbrella.
The new iPad doesn’t have the personal assistant, but it does contain the voice recognition component that is at the heart of Siri. No matter what app you are using on the new iPad, there will be a microphone button that is part of the onscreen keyboard that will allow you to dictate text such as emails, SMSes of Facebook status updates. Dictating text rather than using the onscreen keyboard with Apple’s screen reader VoiceOver may prove quicker and easier for all.
The other big announcement was Apple TV, which was somewhat overshadowed by the iPad hype. There is a new look and feel to the Apple TV interface with a new simplified menu which should ease navigation. Given Apple’s track record of including accessibility within their products, there is no reason to believe that the new interface won’t work with VoiceOver just like the older Apple TV. But without getting our hands on one for testing, we can’t be sure just yet.
Also of interest is AirPlay. Airplay lets you stream what is on your iOS device (iPhone, iPad or iPod touch) to your HDTV. For example, when using the Twitter app on your iPad you can mirror what you are seeing on your iPad and see it on your HDTV as well. The larger screen size of the HDTV may make it easier for people with vision impairment to see what is on the screen while still having the support and benefit of VoiceOver and Zoom.
Most accessibility features come from iOS, the mobile operating system that runs on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. At this stage, there is no information about when the next version of iOS will be released, or if it will including new features and benefits for people with disability.
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