Apple honored with Louis Braille Award for efforts in device accessibility
By Mikey Campbell
Friday, January 27, 2017, 08:00 pm PT (11:00 pm ET)
The Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired on Friday
featured Apple as a corporate honoree at the 57th annual Louis Braille
Awards, a ceremony that recognizes those who contribute to the blind and
visually impaired community.
Source: Tim Cook via Twitter
Announced through the ASB's website, Apple received the prestigious
Braille Award for its efforts in building accessibility functions into
products like iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac.
An institution since 1957, the Louis Braille Award honors individuals
and organizations that have made significant contributions on behalf of
individuals who are blind or visually impaired, the ASB says. The award
has also been handed out to blind or visually impaired people who
overcome great obstacles to accomplish outstanding achievements.
Apple engineer Jordyn Castor, who has been blind since birth, was among
those who accepted the award on behalf of the company. Apple CEO Tim
Cook expressed gratitude for the award and congratulated the company's
accessibility team for their work in a tweet today.
A rundown of Apple's accomplishments in the accessibility space is
provided on the award's official website. The company tweaked its
boilerplate company statement to highlight efforts for the blind and
visually impaired, including mention of Mac, the first platform to
incorporate a full featured screen reader directly into its operating
system. Apple also touts iOS for delivering the first devices with
accessible touchscreen displays and Apple Watch for being the first
"accessible consumer wearable."
The company notes braille is supported across both Mac and iOS device
lineups with braille tables for more than 25 languages and support for
over 70 models of refreshable braille displays.
Apple is considered an industry leader in device accessibility and has
in the past been recognized for its efforts in the space. In 2015, the
company received the American Foundation for the Blind's Helen Keller
Achievement Award for creating and implementing VoiceOver screen reader
technology across its computing platforms.
Beyond accolades, Apple consistently promotes awareness for disabled
users. Last year, for example, accessibility advocate Haben Girma was
invited to address developers at a special Worldwide Developers
Conference session covering product design and utility.
Continuing efforts in the area, Apple during October's "Hello Again"
MacBook Pro event launched a special mini-site that highlights the many
accessibility features built into its various products. A month later,
the company integrated AirPods-style streaming and Live Listen
accessibility to MFi hearing aids.
--
David Goldfield,
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
You are invited to visit the moderator's Web site at WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
for additional resources and information about assistive technology training
services.
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