Apple’s head of accessibility highlights the importance of AI in helping people with disabilities

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Apple's global head of accessibility Sarah Herrlinger | Image from iFeed.pt

As reported last week, Apple’s global head of accessibility Sarah Herrlinger spoke this Tuesday at the Web Summit Lisbon 2024. At the event, Herrlinger talked about everything Apple has been doing to make its devices easy to use for anyone and also highlighted the use of AI to help people with disabilities.

Apple and accessibility

As reported by iFeed.pt, Herrlinger emphasized that Apple has had a team specializing in accessibility since 1985. The company’s vision since then has been to make accessibility “a human right” as the company believes it “drives innovation.”

At the Web Summit, the executive used artificial intelligence as an example of how technology can improve the lives of people with disabilities. She noted how features like Eye Tracking let users control their devices using only their eyes, while Sound Recognition helps people with hearing loss identify things like alarms and doorbells.

Of course, with the advances coming to Siri with Apple Intelligence, using Apple devices hands-free will become even easier.

Another notable advance according to Herrlinger is the Apple Watch’s AssistiveTouch, which lets users navigate and use their watch with hand gestures. The feature has become so advanced and useful that now everyone with a Series 9 and later can benefit from the Double Tap gesture to interact with the interface without touching the screen.

For Herrlinger, Apple also sees accessibility in its devices as a way of “fighting social stigma.” For instance, with the latest update to AirPods Pro 2, users have access to clinical-grade hearing health features built into their earbuds.

Apple has a special webpage with more details about its accessibility features, and you can check it out here.