App Store to get accessibility labels in big future update

It will soon be easier to see which apps support accessibility features on the App Store, as part of several big accessibility updates coming to Apple’s devices this year.

Called “Accessibility Nutrition Labels”, App Store listings will include a new section highlighting an app’s supported features. Like similar tags listed by Xbox on its digital store, the Accessibility Nutrition Labels aim to provide users with important information before downloading an app.

It addresses a common issue encountered by people with accessibility needs, who buy or download software, only to find out afterwards it’s incompatible with an accessibility feature they use. To solve this, Apple’s upcoming labels highlight which features an app supports, like VoiceOver, Voice Controls, and captions.

Images: Apple.

For Mac users, a computer version of the Magnifier app is also coming this year. It lets users magnify objects via a Mac’s camera, including external USB cameras and iPhones, to view them on a larger screen. Magnifier doubles as a way to transform text from a physical object, like a book, to a customisable digital format to help with legibility.

This latter feature is part of Accessibility Reader, coming to most of Apple’s devices. Accessibility Reader lets users tweak their reading experience at a granular level, like text size, colour, and contrast. It also supports reading text aloud, with Accessibility Reader accessible from any app.

Accessibility Reader provides a more customisable reading experience. Image: Apple.

Apple used the example of reading restaurant menus, which often have tiny text. Via the Magnifier app, users can then access Accessibility Reader to read a fully customisable digital version on an iPhone, for example.

Other future accessibility features range from Live Captions coming to Apple Watch, to enhanced zoom and VoiceOver functionality on Apple Vision Pro. Apple hasn’t confirmed exactly when the new features will drop. For now, more details are available on Apple’s news announcement post.

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