How accessibility in the workplace is evolving

Making spaces and technologies work better, facilitating access, easing tasks, and reducing costs for people of different abilities are critical goals for many organizations who strive to create more inclusive workplaces – but more importantly, for the more than one-in-five (22%) Canadians living with a disability.

Companies like Amazon have their own affinity group for employees with disabilities and aims to build a community that supports employees and customers who have mental/physical disabilities.

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Apple devices to get Live Captions, Door Detection accessibility features

Apple

In honour of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple has introduced many accessibility options to mark the occasion. One of them is a beta test for Live Captions, which will be available in English for Canada and the U.S. later this year. This feature will automatically transcribe audio content from anything like a FaceTime call, YouTube stream, or even a real-life conversation with someone nearby. It is designed to work on iPhone 11 and later, iPad models with A12 Bionic and later, and Macs with Apple Silicon. Apple says its accuracy may vary and warns against relying on it in "high-risk situations."

There's also a new Door Detection feature to help those who are blind or have low vision. It's meant to help you locate doors when you're in a new area. It's designed to work with iPad and iPhone models with the LiDaR scanner. It combines the LiDaR with the device's camera and AI capabilities. This means it'll only work on the 2nd and 3rd gen 11-inch iPad Pro, 4th and 5th gen 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, and iPhone 12 Pro and 13 Pro devices. Apple cautions against using it in "circumstances where a user may be harmed or injured, or in high-risk or emergency situations." Learn more about the other accessibility features here.

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Amazon Alexa can now wait a bit before it answers your questions

Anete Lusina/Pexels

Amazon has updated Alexa to make it wait a bit before it responds to your queries. This feature will come in handy if you have a long question to ask the digital assistant or if you have a speech impediment and it takes you a bit more time to ask or say something. You can enable this functionality in the Alexa app.

Android users in the US can now also type in their requests in the Alexa app. It's in public preview right now, and we're hoping Amazon rolls it out more widely later.

Source: The Verge

Android's TalkBack screen reader gets new voice commands, gesture options

Google improves on Android's accessibility features with a new update for its TalkBack screen reader. TalkBack helps users who are blind or have low vision to navigate their way through their Android devices. Now, the screen reader gets an update with "highly requested" features, such as expanded gesture and navigation options, new voice commands, more language options, and simplified menus.

According to Google, there are now a dozen "easy-to-learn and easy-to-use multi-finger gestures" for actions like selecting and editing text, controlling media, and interacting with apps. The company is also getting rid of multiple menus to get rid of any confusion users might have. Instead, TalkBack will have a single menu that adapts to the current context and provide regular access to essential functions.

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