Apple's Announcements Impact on Accessibility

This week Apple announced a variety of new hardware and software products at media event. While Apple executives didn't devote stage time to accessibility announcements as they have in years past, the announcements still impact accessibility and assistive technology.

Mac

Apple previewed OS X Mavericks at their World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. This week Apple released the Mac operating system to the public and announced that it would be a free update. Like iOS 7, Mavericks includes some exciting accessibility improvements including enhanced dictation and Switch Control. Click to read more about each new feature.

iPad

The main focus of the event was updated iPads. Apple released a new full size iPad named iPad Air. The iPad Air is considerably thinner and lighter than the previous full size iPad. In addition to the slimmer design Apple included the new A7 processor which increases performance. The iPad mini was also updated to include a higher quality retina display and is now called the iPad mini with Retina display. Notably, the new iPads don't include Apple's new Touch ID finger print sensor that debut on the iPhone 5s.

Updated Apps

Apple updated their iLife and iWork software for both the Mac and iOS devices. The updates have some useful new features, but I have not found any new accessibility features in these updates. Notably, Apple's education focused iOS apps iBooks and iTunes U were not updated. I'm hopeful that these apps will be updated soon and include new features. In particular, I hope Apple adds improved text-to-speech integration for iBooks. In particular I hope a "read" or "speak" button will be added to allow continuous text-to-speech with highlighting for all books. Currently continuous text-to-speech with highlighting is not possible in iBooks. 

iOS 7.0.3

iOS 7.0.3 is a minor update to iOS 7 but the new release includes a few accessibility improvements. In iOS 7.0.3 the reduce motion accessibility setting decreases navigation animations. This is designed to limit motion sickness that some users reported after updating to iOS 7. iOS 7.0.3 also includes VoiceOver fixes for a sensitivity issue that was present in previous versions of iOS 7.

Apple To Preview Updated OS X and iOS at WWDC Likely With New Accessibility Features

Today Apple announced that they will hold their annual WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) on June 10th at the Moscone West in San Francisco. WWDC 2013 is expected to showcase iOS 7 and OS X 10.9. iOS is Apple's operating system for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch and OS X is Apple's operating system for Mac computers. This year's WWDC keynote will give users a preview of the new features coming to their Apple devices in the coming months.

Last year at WWDC Apple previewed iOS 6 with new accessibility features including Guided Access, Speak Selection with highlighting, Assistive Touch improvements, and much more. Apple devoted a portion of their WWDC 2012 keynote to iOS accessibility. These features were added to the already robust accessibility features for iOS. If Apple sticks to the pattern as they have in years past iOS 7 will also include new and improved accessibility features. OS X 10.9 is rumored to include Siri integration among other features. WWDC will follow Google I/O by a little more than a month.

To learn more about iOS 6 and OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

Apple To Hold Special Event On October 23

Apple issued invitations to select members of the media for an October 23 special event. The event will begin at 10 AM pacific. Apple is rumored to announce a new smaller iPad dubbed iPad Mini and possibly updated Macs. If the rumors are to be believed an iPad Mini could be a great device for education because of its smaller size and rumored lower price point. No matter what Apple announces on the 23rd chances are that it will have accessibility features to make it usable for those with disabilities. Check back on the 23rd to learn about Apple's announcement and the accessibility implications.