Apple outlines 50 ways to make devices easier to use as we age — 9to5Mac

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Apple outlines 50 ways to make devices easier to use as we age — 9to5Mac | AIPROPX

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These range from changing the size of text on an Apple Watch to having your iPhone alert you when your washing machine cycle is complete …

Apple says that it aims to make its technology accessible to everyone, including older adults.

At Apple, we believe the best technology works for everyone, including older adults. That's why our products and services are inclusive by design, with built-in accessibility features to help you connect, create, and do what you love—in the ways that work best for you.

As life changes, so do the ways we want to interact with the world around us. From making text larger onscreen to adding clarity to a conversation in a busy restaurant, Apple's ecosystem of devices, features, and services is built to adapt to meet your needs.

The support page mostly points to accessibility features, divided into ten categories.

The vision category, for example, includes increasing text size, making fonts bold, inverting colours, setting up colour filters, reducing transparency, increasing contrast, and reducing flicker. Some, like sound recognition, are not widely known despite Apple highlighting them at the time of launch.

Sound Recognition listens for certain sounds and uses on‑device intelligence to notify you when they are detected. This feature recognizes 15 different sounds — or you can train your device to listen for your name, as well as electronic sounds that are unique to your environment, like the beeping of appliances in your kitchen, specific types of alarms, or doorbells. On HomePod, Sound Recognition can also detect the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm.

Sound Recognition supports CarPlay, too. Your iPhone will listen for and detect sirens and horns and even the sound of a crying baby. You’ll receive a notification — onscreen in your car if you’re using CarPlay — when a particular sound is detected.

The page is an impressive encapsulation of just how many accessibility features are now available across Apple devices. Each subsection has separate instructions for each supported device. Depending on the feature, this may span iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Vision Pro, and CarPlay.

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Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He's known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!