I asked Steven Aquino, a freelance journalist who specializes in accessible tech, to recommend his top accessibility breakthroughs of 2023. He recommended Be My Eyes, a company that makes technology for people with impaired vision. In 2023, Be My Eyes announced a feature known as Be My AI, powered by OpenAI’s technology, that allows blind and low-sighted people to aim their smartphone camera at an object and have that object described for them in natural language.
Mr. Aquino also pointed me to Apple’s new Personal Voice feature, which is built into iOS 17 and uses A.I. voice-cloning technology to create a synthetic version of a user’s voice. The feature was designed for people who are at risk of losing their ability to speak, such as those with a recent diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or another degenerative disease, and gives them a way to preserve their speaking voice so that their friends, relatives and loved ones can hear from them long into the future.
As Apple Stores across the United States start to close for the day, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 sales halt is officially going into effect. Apple removed its flagship Apple Watches from its online store on Thursday, and now they’re also being removed from Apple Stores.
When Apple Stores reopen after Christmas on December 26, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 won’t be available.
Apple is out with a new ad focused on the iPhone 15 Plus. Called “Miss You,” the ad emphasizes the iPhone 15 Plus battery life – concluding that the device offers “loooooong battery life” alongside its other features.
Mickey Mouse has long been a symbol in the copyright wars. Beyond the practical impact, the expiration — 95 years after his debut in the short film “Steamboat Willie” — is also a major symbolic milestone.
“This is a big one,” said Jennifer Jenkins, director of the Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain. “It’s generating so much excitement in the copyright community — it’s finally happening.”
Most of the time, I hold my iPhone with my left hand. I wish I can get the phone to allow me to pull down the Control Center from the top-left corner, instead of the current top-right.
The majority of the time I use the Control Center to adjust the volume. Yes, I know I can use the volume buttons. But, I have picked up the habit of minimizing the pressing of actual buttons ever since iPhone 3G, where the home button physically died on me.
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