Overview of special features iOS 8

Immediately after the end of WWDC people began to explore the possibilities of the new iOS 8, which received such cool things as Continuity, widgets and iCloud Drive. This, of course, was to be expected: iOS is the operating system that manages Apple's most popular products, so, so much attention is justified.

Special features for people with disabilities are just as important as the main innovations that were discussed on the stage. Apple has done year after year, so that each person could comfortably use the iPhone and iPad. This year the trend continued. Let's look at what's new has been added to iOS universal access and how it works.

Alex

Apple suffered Alex's voice from Mac to iOS. You can hear it in all applications that give voice actions (other than Siri). These include VoiceOver, and pronunciation of a new chip iOS 8 - Speak Screen. In fact, Alex is a replacement for the robotic voice that we hear today.

Speak Screen

With Speak Screen, making a simple gesture can make Alex read the contents of the screen, including requests that were made to Siri. This is a great feature for the visually impaired. It is worth noting that the Speak Screen differs significantly from the "pronunciation of", because the latter only speaks the selected text instead of reading the entire screen.

increase

Apple slightly improved zoom function features in iOS. Now, the user can specify which part of the screen to increase and adjust the scale. In iOS 8 you can, for example, to use the keyboard of normal size and an increase in the working area, which is very convenient, because earlier increased the screen.

shade of gray

iOS does not support themes, but for people with disabilities has a function, which can be used to invert the colors. activation function "shades of gray" has been added in iOS 8. As the name implies, all the colors in the system will be inverted in gray.

Builder Access

In iOS 8, Apple has given developers access to the API Touch ID and expanded its use in the system. Now, to get out of the guide-access must use a fingerprint that does not allow students or visitors to exit the app to your home screen.

In addition, Apple has added a time limit to guide access. This will allow teachers and parents to limit the time of use of the device.

Improved Braille keyboard

In iOS 8 adds support for the six-point braille input throughout the system. This will allow to translate signs in the six-point text.

Hearing aids Made for iPhone

Apple has worked on support for hearing aids. Now the man with a hearing aid that has multiple devices from Apple, will be able to switch between them. In addition, if the hearing aid has been used with more than one device, then it will be able to choose the device that wants to use.

Third-party keyboard

This topic deserves a separate article, but the use of third-party keyboards for people with disabilities has a very big potential.

Many people with low vision are complaining that they can not see the letters on a standard keyboard iPhone. With the assistance of third-party developers, they can get a keyboard with a significantly large letters and different colors that will improve their experience with your iOS devices.

It seems to me that Apple is doing for people with disabilities is much higher than other companies. Hopefully, this trend will continue for many years.

via (macstories)