[Nfbf-l] Article: At Apple's WWDC 2018, accessibility pervades all

Sat Jun 9 14:30:01 UTC 2018

Hi Patricia thanks for sharing this article. I enjoyed reading about all of the accesibility features that Apple will be incorporating into Ios 12.

On Jun 9, 2018 9:53 AM, PLipovsky via Nfbf-l <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
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> At Apple's WWDC 2018, accessibility pervades all 
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> Article Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-apos-wwdc-2018-accessibility-230005877html?.tsrc=applewf <https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/finance.yahoo.com?p=eyJzIjoiZUM2bERNT1JtbWpfX2J5YzdJSEJhUnhhTklRIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL2ZpbmFuY2UueWFob28uY29tXFxcL25ld3NcXFwvYXBwbGUtYXBvcy13d2RjLTIwMTgtYWNjZXNzaWJpbGl0eS0yMzAwMDU4NzcuaHRtbD8udHNyYz1hcHBsZXdmXCIsXCJpZFwiOlwiMThiMTQ2ZjQ3ODg0NDJhNjgwNzhjYmI0OGU5OTRlNTRcIixcInVybF9pZHNcIjpbXCI3ZWRhMmM0NTA4YTc3NzRmYjFlNmMwODk4ODU1YmJjMjdkNmQyYzQ1XCJdfSJ9> 
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> Accessibility has long played an integral role at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference <https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/www.apple.com?p=eyJzIjoicjI3WV9PYVRsN1d4ZDVMTEZNWGNmSnp2SkpZIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL3d3dy5hcHBsZS5jb21cXFwvYXBwbGUtZXZlbnRzXFxcL2p1bmUtMjAxOFxcXC9cIixcImlkXCI6XCIxOGIxNDZmNDc4ODQ0MmE2ODA3OGNiYjQ4ZTk5NGU1NFwiLFwidXJsX2lkc1wiOltcImRhZmQ3MjI5NzBhY2ZjNDIxY2Y0M2YxZGYyZGVjNTYzNWVjN2NiZTZcIl19In0> , and it certainly had its presence felt in 2018. There are some constant elements of the week, such as the labs, sessions, and mid-week social that brings together members of Apple’s <https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/www.crunchbase.com?p=eyJzIjoiM1hGeHNTaFFxOTFmMlpSdDYzRHV4OHFscVVJIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL3d3dy5jcnVuY2hiYXNlLmNvbVxcXC9vcmdhbml6YXRpb25cXFwvYXBwbGVcXFwvXCIsXCJpZFwiOlwiMThiMTQ2ZjQ3ODg0NDJhNjgwNzhjYmI0OGU5OTRlNTRcIixcInVybF9pZHNcIjpbXCIzZGUwNmIxMTBhMzhmNmExNDdhMDYyOTVjZTgxMTQzMTI1MGM3NTQ3XCJdfSJ9>  Accessibility group, developers and others interested in the disabled community to celebrate inclusiveness and accessible design. 
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> This year had a different vibe. After attending the keynote and speaking with numerous people at Apple during the week, one feeling that has resonated with me is that accessibility, conceptually, has become a mandatory part of not only how Apple designs its products, but of the Apple ecosystem at large. To be mindful of accessibility is now, more than ever, an expectation. 
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> Several student scholarship winners I spoke to eagerly expressed their desire to learn more about what accessibility is, how it works and how to best incorporate it into their apps. They truly want to build tools for everyone. 
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> The announcements made this year were less about discrete features for accessibility’s sake and more about how the new features, as Apple designed them, are inherently accessible. The Apple Design Awards <https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/techcrunch.com?p=eyJzIjoiTHZHTDBRUzdUbmFha1JFNEx5Z0FNMUMxSWk0IiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL3RlY2hjcnVuY2guY29tXFxcLzIwMThcXFwvMDZcXFwvMDRcXFwvYXBwbGUtYW5ub3VuY2VzLWEtdmVyeS1pbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLWdyb3VwLW9mLWFwcGxlLWRlc2lnbi1hd2FyZC13aW5uZXJzXFxcL1wiLFwiaWRcIjpcIjE4YjE0NmY0Nzg4NDQyYTY4MDc4Y2JiNDhlOTk0ZTU0XCIsXCJ1cmxfaWRzXCI6W1wiM2EzNjQxOTg3OTRmMDYzNmVkMzNiYmU4ZTZmZmI4ZmIwYzQ1YWNlN1wiXX0ifQ> , for instance, has included an accessibility category the last few years, but not so this year. In fact, accessibility has always been part of the criteria for selecting winners, and Apple says this year’s winners have support for accessibility built in. Calzy <https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/itunes.apple.com?p=eyJzIjoiY0hHalh1OHp5S2JxQXJIeFRkRjFvRXBWOUdBIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL2l0dW5lcy5hcHBsZS5jb21cXFwvdXNcXFwvYXBwXFxcL2NhbHp5LTNcXFwvaWQ2MjM2OTA3MzJcIixcImlkXCI6XCIxOGIxNDZmNDc4ODQ0MmE2ODA3OGNiYjQ4ZTk5NGU1NFwiLFwidXJsX2lkc1wiOltcIjdkYzc5MDQ1ZTlkMWJiZmQxM2EzMTVlOWMxNzM5NzI2ZmYwMGEwODdcIl19In0> , a calculator app from indie developer Raja Vijayaraman, supports Dynamic Type. 
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> Accessible announcements 
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> As a disabled reporter who has covered the last several Apple media events, I’ve attended enough now that I’ve come to realize there is an interesting (to me) accessibility angle to how the company structures its events and how it supports attendees with disabilities. That is another story for another time, but I found myself thinking about it during Monday’s keynote address. 
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> The slides Apple showed were the most readable I’ve seen yet. As someone who has low vision, this is critically important. The white, bold San Francisco <https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/developer.apple.com?p=eyJzIjoiMk5WSWV1NDhzTDdoSVFYemhoTTNIcE9jYk1FIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL2RldmVsb3Blci5hcHBsZS5jb21cXFwvZm9udHNcXFwvXCIsXCJpZFwiOlwiMThiMTQ2ZjQ3ODg0NDJhNjgwNzhjYmI0OGU5OTRlNTRcIixcInVybF9pZHNcIjpbXCJjMGY3MjQzZTYzZTk3NjdjOGVlOTg2NDE3MTBkN2IyYTY0N2I0ZTU4XCJdfSJ9>  typeface set against the black background made for such high contrast that I had no problems seeing every slide -- even the word-cloud ones listing ancillary features. This made my job covering the news easier, because I wasn’t straining my eyes in order to get important information. 
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> Accessibility-wise, Monday’s keynote slides were infinitely more visually friendly than the ones used at the March event in Chicago. As pretty and appropriately themed as they were, I found those slides difficult to see; I liked WWDC’s much better. 
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> The lesson here is in how pervasive and dynamic accessibility can be. Accessibility is everywhere, and the relevance in this case is that it extends way beyond any new software features. 
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> Accessibility for everyone 
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> There are a handful of new mainstream features across Apple’s platforms that the company feels has great potential in an accessibility context. This epitomizes the idea of accessibility for everyone—software not built expressly for accessibility, but designed in such a way that users of all abilities can benefit. 
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> One such feature is Group FaceTime in iOS 12. Apple famously included deaf users in an iPhone 4 commercial many moons ago, and FaceTime has remained a popular method of communication for many users in the deaf community. 
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> Whereas previously the feature was essentially a one-on-one conversation, the arrival of iOS 12 this fall will make it possible to converse with up to 32(!) people at once. For the deaf and hard-of-hearing, the ability to include one’s entire family (or friends or co-workers) should make FaceTime an even more compelling technology for deaf users. 
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> Another example is the Walkie-Talkie mode <https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/techcrunch.com?p=eyJzIjoiaUNaSnNqVWt6R2MyVzFXZWRRVkxzSkUtdUtnIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL3RlY2hjcnVuY2guY29tXFxcLzIwMThcXFwvMDZcXFwvMDRcXFwvYXBwbGUtd2F0Y2gtZ2V0cy13YWxraWUtdGFsa2llLW1vZGVcXFwvXCIsXCJpZFwiOlwiMThiMTQ2ZjQ3ODg0NDJhNjgwNzhjYmI0OGU5OTRlNTRcIixcInVybF9pZHNcIjpbXCIxYTlkNTFjZDY2MDNjMjg0Njc2NjgyZmY2MjE0Mzc0YjU1ODgzZGExXCJdfSJ9>  in watchOS 5. I’ve seen chatter on Twitter that it seems like a frivolous addition, but in actuality it can be practical. 
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> Imagine you’re someone who’s a caregiver for a person with severe physical impairments (or simply elderly) and both of you have an Apple Watch. With Walkie-Talkie, you can “radio” each other from separate locations in a home or care facility right from your wrists. No need to iMessage or make a phone call or ring a bedside call button. All you need is your Apple Watch and the Walkie-Talkie mode. 
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