Google Lookout app is now available in Canada

Google's app to help blind or low-vision individuals navigate the world is now available in Canada with many new features. Google Lookout draws upon the same technology used by Google Lens, allowing you to search and take action on objects around you by pointing your phone camera. 

Lookout now has two new modes: Food Label and Scan Document. Food Label helps you identify packaged food. All you have to do is point your phone's camera at the label. The app will guide you to position the product so it can identify it either through the packaging or barcode. It can be useful for putting away groceries, and you want to make sure you're handling the right products and putting them in their proper places.

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Google Maps now shows wheelchair accessibility information

In honour of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Google Maps introduces a new feature that lets you know whether a location is wheelchair accessible. The navigation app has wheelchair accessibility information for over 15 million places around the world. When you have the feature enabled, you will see if a location has an accessible entrance when there's a wheelchair icon on a place's listing. When you scroll further, you'll find out if the establishment offers accessible seating, restrooms, and parking. You need to make sure you have the latest version of Google Maps on your Android or iOS device to get access to this new handy feature. Once you've updated, head to Settings and select Accessibility. From there, find Accessible Places.

The feature though, is only as good as the people who contribute to it. And so, Google is bringing to iOS devices an easier way to contribute accessibility information. Android users can already share this information on their devices. According to iPhone in Canada, the guide comes with tips for rating accessibility, in case you aren't sure about what counts as being "accessible."

Apple makes its platforms more accessible with Voice Control

For all the shiny new tech we get to see, sometimes the more interesting announcements are those that are more functional and serves more as equalizers. So, during Apple's keynote at its Worldwide Developer Conference, one of the new features we were excited about was an accessibility feature to help those with motor impairments use different Apple products. The company introduced Voice Control, which lets you control macOS, iOS, and iPadOS using voice commands. It's said to work "with virtually any app" and will let you tap, swipe, and scroll with your voice. At the same time, Apple promises that the feature "ensures personal data is kept private." Voice Control will reportedly come out this fall.

Source: Gizmodo

Microsoft makes gaming more accessible with Xbox Adaptive Controller

Microsoft's new Xbox Adaptive Controller is a revolutionary device for more inclusive gaming. Designed to help assist various Xbox One and Windows 10 users and gamers, the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which was revealed in time for GAAD (Global Accessibility Awareness Day) shows Microsoft truly wants to make its products, experiences and ecosystems more accessible to all users.

"By taking an inclusive design approach and considerations of gamers who might not be able to reach all the bumpers and triggers or hold a controller for an extended period of time, for example, we were able to design a controller that provides a way for more fans to enjoy gaming. On our journey of inclusive design, we have taken a wider view of our fans and a more inclusive approach to designing for them," Microsoft's Phil Spencer notes on the Microsoft Blog.

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