Apple Reveals 'Voice Control' Accessibility Feature Coming to Mac and iOS

Monday June 3, 2019 12:02 PM PDT by Tim Hardwick
As part of its macOS Catalina and iOS 13 unveiling today at WWDC, Apple announced a new accessibility feature called Voice Control, allowing users to control their Mac and iOS devices entirely using vocal commands.


Voice Control supports dictation and editing in both operating systems, along with comprehensive menu navigation.

On iOS, the feature utilizes attention awareness to know when a user with physical motor limitations is interacting with their device.

To allay privacy concerns, Apple says that none of the audio processed by Voice Control can be accessed by anyone else, including Apple, thanks to built-in anonymity and encryption.

Related Roundups: iOS 13, iPadOS
Tags: accessibility, WWDC 2019, voice control
11 comments


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DJMoxieLAH
11 weeks ago
Me: hey siri, delete browser history

Siri: tweeting browser history

Me: Noooooo!!!
Rating: 7 Votes
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Skeptical.me
11 weeks ago
If this is as reliable as was displayed in the Keynote I'll be very happy.
Rating: 3 Votes
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StyxMaker
11 weeks ago

Seriously, an accident in a blink of an eye can put anyone in a position where he/she needs this feature or any other accessibility feature. Glad that Apple is doing great for the unfortunate.


Being severely red/green color blind I often use the invert colors or black and white options with some apps and web sites.

Developers really need to stop using red letting on black backgrounds red/green color blind (the most common type) literally cannot read the words. Additionally they have the habit of putting really serious warnings in this color combination.
Rating: 2 Votes
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AdeFowler
11 weeks ago

If this is as reliable as was displayed in the Keynote I'll be very happy.


Same here. I have cerebral palsy, and whilst I manage just fine most days, this could be a godsend on my bad days.
Rating: 2 Votes
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iDento
11 weeks ago
Seriously, an accident in a blink of an eye can put anyone in a position where he/she needs this feature or any other accessibility feature. Glad that Apple is doing great for the unfortunate.
Rating: 2 Votes
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CombatCaptured
11 weeks ago
At the very least the [Accessibility Options Menu] needs to be 100 voice control, I’ve got a blind friend who “once and awhile” accidentally changes an Accessibility option and can’t change it back because it no long is working properly.

Recently changed the voice speed to max and couldn’t understand anything because it was speaking too fast, so couldn’t use voiceover to find the menu option to change it back... ‘hey Siri slow down voice over’ should be bare minimum!
Rating: 2 Votes
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Skeptical.me
11 weeks ago

Same here. I have cerebral palsy, and whilst I manage just fine most days, this could be a godsend on my bad days.


That's so awesome, I love seeing technology actually assist people who need a bit of help. It's actually quite exciting. I hope you find it to be very helpful when needed :)
Rating: 1 Votes
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