Windows is one of the most powerful and accessible OS today. But the company has recently announced that it enhanced, even more, its accessibility features to better accommodate those with vision, hearing, and mobility disabilities.
The company announced the new features enhancements via their blog post that detailed the set of inclusive design principles.
There are four categories of assistive features: Vision, Hearing, Mobility, and Neurodiversity. The company also has a Disability Answer Desk for specific needs.
Delight in Accessibility
Jeff Petty, the company's accessibility leader talked about their aim to make computer usage not only possible but make it a delightful experience for those with mobility, vision, or hearing issues.
Windows 11 adds new audial and visual tools and new support for third-party hardware and software. Furthermore, the 'Ease of Access' section has been renamed 'Accessibility,' along with a new icon to make it even clearer.
That's not all-Microsoft also added more natural voices for text-to-speech and systemwide Live Captions to transcribe any audio on the system. Users can now get the 'Accessibility' settings directly from the Taskbar's Action Center.
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Vision Accessibility Tools
Windows 11 has added new features to its themes that are now customizable and designed in a way to make content easier to see. Furthermore, the company addressed the concern of vision-impaired users in the past about the unpleasant system sounds. Therefore, they have developed gentles sounds that remain distinct.
The Narrator has been around for some time, but Windows 11 enhanced it further with new voices based on neural speech models that make it sound more natural.
Also, the voice typing feature has gotten better with the advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it now has automatic punctuation and improved accuracy.
New Hearing Accessibility Tools
The main feature of the Hearing accessibility is the Captions but with Windows 11, there are now more style choices to choose from. Users can also save a custom caption system. It can also transcribe any audio from PC. There is also a Mono audio option for users with hearing loss in only one ear.
Mobility is Better
Windows 11 will now have built-in support for devices that will enable them to control their computer with eye movements. It includes calibration and a launchpad of eye targets for use with the device.
Better Neurodiversity Support
Windows 11 aims to provide better support to those with AHDH; hence, they included features to improve focus and cut down distractions. The default Windows browser, Edge, comes with features for people with reading difficulties. It also has an Immersive reader feature that enables users to select color patterns that are designed for low vision or dyslexia.
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Written by April Fowell
