Apple Watch accessibility: everything you need to know

Transcript

15 February 2015

Roberta: Dr Scott Hollier is here today to discuss the Apple Watch, including new accessibility developments and how this device's accessibility compares with Apple's existing range and potential uses of the Apple Watch for people with blindness or vision impairment. Welcome back, Scott.

Scott: Thanks, Roberta, great to be back again.

Roberta: Now, we've heard a bit about the upcoming Apple Watch. Can you tell us a bit more about it?

Scott: Sure, this will arguably be the most hotly anticipated tech of 2015. Last week we were talking about the Consumer Electronic Show but Apple don't usually do things around that. Yeah, it's all eyes on Apple now and the Apple Watch is basically a companion device in that it's designed to still be working in conjunction with, say, a smart phone or tablet made by Apple. The idea is that, like normal watches, it's a device on your wrist but it's also a smart device, so it can do lots of exciting things with messages and also have its own apps. It's due in April and it's looking really interesting.

Roberta: Is the Apple Watch accessible?

Scott: Well, it's a great question and there have been leaked screenshots on some popular Mac rumour websites and basically what they suggest is, yes, it looks like it will have Voiceover, the popular screen reader on iPads and iPhones. It looks like it will also have a zoom. It will have inverted theme options and also there's some other helpful things for other disabilities, like moving the audio into one ear for people who are hearing impaired. From a vision point of view, assuming the leaked screenshots are true, it's looking like it will have some similar accessibility to the other Apple devices we know and love, being the iPhone and the iPad.

Roberta: That was going to be my next question because I know you spoke about it working with the iPhone and iPad but is it likely to be as accessible as iPhone or iPad?

Scott: Well, the screen shot would suggest – and again I should stress this is only rumours at this point. We don't know if that screenshot is true or not but the screenshot does show that there are less features than certainly the iPhone or the iPad, so whilst it's good to see that some of those core accessibility features are likely to be in the device there's a lot that isn't. Some of the other really detailed settings around making those assisted technologies work don't appear to be in this leaked screenshot. Again, we're going off a lot on what may or may not be a true representation but it's quite likely, given that other Apple products are accessible, that it will have the features that we've seen. I think the upshot of it is that it will be accessible to some degree but maybe not to the same extent as other Apple devices.

Roberta: Scott, how useful is an Apple Watch likely to be to a person who is blind or vision impaired as opposed to just having a smart phone or tablet?

Scott: This is a great question and this is really the big question. We've seen smart watches made by other manufacturers running Android or other operating systems and, to be honest, the market hasn't really embraced them very well to date. I mean, often Apple is known for changing the landscape when it comes to tech but at this point there is still that big question mark over, okay, you've got this device on your wrist but what can you actually do with it. Given that our smart phones and tablets are so powerful and can do so many things, is a watch really likely to do much more, especially given that in order to, say, check phone messages and things like that, you still have to have an iPhone kicking around in your pocket for it to work. It is a big question and also the price point is likely to be a factor too. If it still costs quite a lot to buy an Apple Watch then a lot of people might just be happy to stick with their phone or tablet, so it's a bit of a wait and see at the moment but it could be another one of these Apple products where we don't really see its use now but when we have it we'll love it.

Roberta: Of course, there's the technocrats too who just have to have it, whether they really need it or not.

Scott: Yes, we'll be seeing the queues around the Apple store when it's released, I'm sure.

Roberta: I'm quite sure. What do you use, Scott, just for interest's sake?

Scott: I'm more an Android person for my daily use, mainly because Android accessibility, as we've talked about before, has evolved a fair bit now. Also the devices are much, much cheaper, so for my budget if I can get a smart phone for a fifth of the price of an iPhone and it still does pretty much what I need it to do then that works best for me.

Roberta: That's really good. Now, for more information on accessible devices and technology, visit the Media Access Australia website at www.mediaaccess.org.au or if you like to use what I like to use, the telephone, you can also call 02 92126242 or email info@mediaaccess.org.au. Thank you, Scott.

Scott: Thanks, Roberta.

Roberta: I've been speaking with Dr Scott Hollier and we've been talking about the Apple Watch, so that's April we'll be keeping an eye out for that. We'll be talking to Scott about that closer to the time. So info@mediaaccess.org.au for more information is where you should go or the website, www.mediaaccess.org.au. Media Access Australia is a supporter of this program.

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