Earlier this week, Apple marked International Day of Disabled Persons 2022, held every year on December 3, with a video called ‘The Greatest’ that showcased how some of its users were using its accessibility features, from door detection to sound alerts.
As ‘I Am the Greatest’ (with the Marliya Choir) by Spinifex Gum plays in the background, you’re shown a few scenarios employing accessibility features on iOS and macOS such as Magnifier, Door Detection, and Image Descriptions on an iPhone, alongside alternate pointer controls on Mac, such as head tracking & facial expressions.
Granted, it’s an ad when it boils down to it – a bunch of features shown off that you can use on Apple’s devices. However, you can’t deny that there’s something special here, and it makes an impact as to how far software has come that almost anyone can use these devices as well as anyone else.
As you watch this two-minute video (there’s an , you’re struck by how these seven users, not actors, are going about their lives using an iPhone, a Mac, and an Apple Watch to help them with day-to-day tasks. For example, you see a hearing-impaired mother being alerted on her Apple Watch that her new born child is crying, so she goes and tends to her. You can switch this on by going to Settings > Accessibility > Sound Recognition, then turn on Sound Recognition to select certain alerts for some sounds.
Meanwhile, Julliard-trained jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker caught my attention with how he was using the detection feature in a scene where he’s using an iPhone to help him read out what it says on the door. I’ve been told that door detection works with any iPhone that features a LIDAR scanner, so an iPhone 12 Pro and above, and it can work for distances of up to 20 feet.
