The Apple September keynote has come and gone. So many features have been introduced, of which many were visual in nature. However, there are a few features that deserve some attention. A couple of them may benefit those with disabilities.
- Action button: Apple stated the silent switch will now be an action button. This was stated in their iPhone 15 Pro segment. You can program the button to silence the phone, enable an accessibility feature, or start a shortcut quickly. I see this as a useful feature as I have two accessibility features in my accessibility shortcut settings. I believe having a shortcut button could help in enabling a specific accessibility setting right away with minimal taps.
- Although not accessibility oriented, many of Apple’s devices will start using USB type C. This includes the new iPhone 15 line-up, Airpods Pro 2, and the wired Earpods. With the fact I have more USB type C cables than lightning cables, this change could mean I could use any USB C cable to charge the iPhone 15. The only shortcoming I see with the change is that if there are any wired accessories that use the lightning port, those accessories will not work with the new phone unless Apple comes up with an adapter that temporarily turns the USB C port into a lightning port.
- Changing voice settings: With the iPhone 15, one can change the quality of a phone call. Suppose you’re in a busy store and the other person can’t hear you well. You can enable a setting that cancels out all that noise so that the other person can hear you better.
- Finally, During the iPhone 15 Pro segment, Apple stated the device would have 7 lenses. Let me know in the comments if you think this could theoretically be of any use to those who use apps like Seeing AI or Be My Eyes.
Although the new phones will be on the expensive side, I can’t wait to see these devices for myself to see if it is worth all the hype. Finally, according to Apple, Pre-orders start on September 15.
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