Apple Highlights Global Accessibility Awareness Day With Front-Page Feature [Updated]

Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, an event that promotes inclusion and access to technology for anyone with a disability. As it has over the past few years, Apple is marking the day by updating Apple.com in the United States and a few regions around the world with a message promoting accessibility: "Technology is most powerful when it empowers everyone."

accessibility awareness 2019
On the Apple.com front page, visitors are encouraged to explore more accessibility features, which is linked to Apple's existing accessibility page. The page doesn't appear to have been updated yet this year; it highlights areas where Apple helps users with disabilities related to vision, hearing, physical and motor skills, learning, and literacy.

On the accessibility page, Apple highlights its short commercial from 2016 about real people with disabilities who use its products in everyday life, narrated by Sady Paulson, who uses Switch Control on a Mac. Otherwise the page showcases Apple accessibility features like VoiceOver, Live Listen, Switch Control, and more, with the help of products including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and HomePod.

In years past, Apple celebrated Global Accessibility Awareness Day with a series of "Designed for" videos that highlighted interviews conducted between CEO Tim Cook and three accessibility activists. Apple has also previously held a Stevie Wonder concert at One Infinite Loop and hosted global events promoting inclusive design at Apple corporate offices in Cupertino, Austin, Cork, and London. The company also usually holds accessibility-related Today at Apple sessions at its retail stores.

Update: Apple is also highlighting accessibility on the iOS App Store today, featuring stories about developers who build iOS apps to help people with disabilities.

app store accessibility
The stories discuss apps like Proloquo2Go, Strava, Audible, djay, Ready to Roll, and more. They can be found on the "Today" tab on the ‌App Store‌ on ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌.

The company has also shared a new press release that focuses on California-based photographer Rachael Short, who takes fine art photographs exclusively using the ‌iPhone‌. Short suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident nine years ago, and now uses an ‌iPhone‌ XS to capture images. She used to carry multiple cameras and a variety of film around, but loves the mobility and ease-of-use the ‌iPhone‌ affords her after the accident.

“I couldn’t imagine being in my situation even 15 years ago without my iPhone,” Short says. “Technology has changed so much in that time. It just opens up so many possibilities for people with disabilities and limited mobility. It’s my camera, it’s my email, it’s my photo editing, it’s ‘Hey Siri, do stuff for me.’ It’s everything.”

Apple also confirmed that it is hosting events around the world to promote inclusive design and emphasize technology that works for everyone.

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Top Rated Comments

No. 44 Avatar
80 months ago
To celebrate, Apple should make a keyboard that can be used by people who have fingers...
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheShadowKnows! Avatar
80 months ago
Apple should be commended for their accessibility features.

Although the products are not cheap by any means, they are uber-cheap when compared to the products marketed for disabled people (hearing impaired, physically impaired, eye-sight impaired, ...), and do work better.

This is an area where Cook has his beans aligned on the right place -- for a change.

Just my view.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nwcs Avatar
80 months ago
For whatever else I may think of Apple good or bad or politically this is something I will always appreciate about them. They have historically and consistently worked harder than most companies to make their products accessible to people with disabilities. Bravo!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brinary001 Avatar
80 months ago
I love how much Apple is committed to accessibility, and I back them 100% in their efforts. I'm a software developer and I've always wanted to work for Apple on the team that develops the accessibility features of iOS and Mac. I feel like that must be so rewarding!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jcabrera Avatar
80 months ago
Did you notice that they changed Daenerys (in this post) to Catelyn (right now at Apple.com) in the Game of Thrones book shown in the iPad? Wonder why that was...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DrJohnnyN Avatar
80 months ago
Wonderful features.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)