Apple Releases Showcase Video Ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities

With International Day of Persons with Disabilities falling on 3 December this year, Apple has released a new video featuring people with disabilities navigating their day with accessibility features on their iPhones.

Credit: Apple

A key feature is VoiceOver on iPhone, allowing blind jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker to locate his jacket through item detection and image description as well as make his way on stage for a performance thanks to door detection, which even gives an approximate distance to the door as well as if there are any words on it.

Credit: Apple

For persons with hearing disabilities, the video showed off sound recognition on the iPhone, with notifications informing a mother that her toddler might be crying.

When it comes to people with movement or mobility disabilities, the iPhone not only offers Assistive Touch to help simplify gestures, but Voice Control even allows a quadriplegic man control his phone to take photos, check the weather app and more. The video even showcases accessibility features on the Mac with alternate pointer controls, allowing for head tracking and the use of facial expressions to control the computer.

Credit: Apple

Titled "The Greatest", the music track of the video even takes inspiration from iconic speeches made by Muhammad Ali with quotes like "I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was." and more. All in all, the video is an incredibly moving one that shows how resilient people with disabilities are, as well as how technology has evolved to assist people in their day-to-day lives. It's a wonderful watch, and one that we highly recommend. The full video is available on Apple's YouTube channel.