Apple marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities with new website and by highlighting hidden iPhone features
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Your support makes all the difference.Apple has marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities with a new, devoted site and by drawing interest to a range of features in its devices.
The new accessibility site is aimed at allowing people to “learn about ways to personalise their Apple products to work the way they want”, Apple said.
It draws attention to a range of features in its iPhone and other devices that might go unnoticed. It points to tools that include its “Back Tap” feature that allow people to knock on the back of their phone to get it to perform a number of actions.
It notes that the website and the tools that it highlights are intended as “a helpful resource for anyone — whether they identify as having a disability or not”.
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is promoted by the UN, and has been celebrated on 3 December since 1992.
As part of its celebration of the day, Apple and its website pointed to a range of features. They are also documented on YouTube, where Apple posted a number of how-to videos.
They include the Magnifier feature, which uses the phone’s camera to make it easier to see anything the phone is pointed at; Back Tap, which triggers actions or accessibility shortcuts; Voice Control, which can be used by people with severe physical motor limitations to control their Apple devices.
Apple’s devices also have features that make use of machine learning tools that are integrated across the company’s line. They include a feature called “People Detection”, which allows the iPhone 12 Pro and iPad Pro can use their LiDAR scanner and cameras to spot people and help estimate how far away they might be; another, similar tool means that the phone can be pointed at specific objects and use artificial intelligence to identify them.
All of those features can be found within Apple’s accessibility settings.
Apple also used its Instagram page to highlight the Jordan Nicholson, an iPhone photographer who was born with thrombocytopenia absent radius syndrome or TAR.
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