The app I want to focus on is the VoiceOver app made into all apple products. This free, included software is revolutionary to accessible design in the digital space and the fact that the system is free makes this available for everyone. VoiceOver is a built-in screen reader that describes what the cursor or finger is on. A new feature I personally learned about from a blind Tik Tok creator is the braille feature. This feature helps blind people type more efficiently. I am currently writing my paper on accessible design, specifically focusing on designing for blind people. I found that one of the biggest hurdles to jump over is to normalize blindness. The positive response to this app on social media has been great exposure for the blind community. Another point that I found from my research in the blind community, is that there is a great deal of normalcy in being blind so seeing the ease that blind people can communicate with others via their devices is fantastic.
Another feature I found very refreshing from apple was their audio descriptions to hear narrations of video clip or movie. This makes navigating in the digital space for people with vision loss much easier.
Apple also has other apps and modes that help with accessibility. One simple, but big help. Id text size manipulation. The user can increase the text and or bolden the text on the screen. This is a great advancement in gearing tech for aging generations. There is a false stigma that blindness and vision loss only apply to a small proportion of the population, but in reality, everyone will go through vision loss in their life. Design and tech can be sometimes be ageist in only designing for a younger audience, but this is a great example for designing for all.
All devices also has dark mode on all of their devices that changes everything on screen to a darker color scheme that is meant to be easier on the eyes. The dark mode has a dark background and light text making reading in low light far easier.
