Today is the Eighth <https://www.globalaccessibilityawarenessday.org/>
Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). This day has been set aside "to
get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital (web, software,
mobile, etc.) access/inclusion and people with different disabilities."
This according to the above linked web page on GAAD. In recent years on
AppleVis, we have supported this day, with posts about
<https://www.applevis.com/blog/participate-global-accessibility-awareness-da
y-reaching-out-ios-and-os-x-developers> advocating for more accessible
applications,
<https://www.applevis.com/blog/why-accessibility-important-written-global-ac
cessibility-awareness-day-may-17> highlighting the challenges of web design,
<https://www.applevis.com/blog/participate-global-accessibility-awareness-da
y> providing an extensive list of resources, and others. Certainly, all of
the posts linked above remain good examples of what GAAD strives to promote.
This article will cover something a bit different: one example of where
accessibility has helped those with different disabilities connect, and how
in the situation I'm covering, how Apple's built-in accessibility features
helped benefit not only one of its customers, but also the company itself.
Further, it will highlight an issue which could turn progression into
regression.
A Bit of Background
I'm both totally blind and have a significant hearing impairment. This means
I'm almost entirely reliant on braille to interact with my various devices.
Though I've tried learning American Sign Language, it has been a major
struggle for me to grasp as a language. Due to this struggle, I've become
more reliant on alternative communication options that often involve
technology.
Accessibility Connects People
The posts linked to above cover a wide range of topics about accessibility.
However, I'm here to discuss when that accessibility connects people with
different disabilities. Last year, I decided to purchase an iPod touch
seventh generation, as my sixth generation iPod touch had a battery swelling
issue and was 5 years old. It also is not compatible with iOS 13. While on
the road for work, I often will visit Apple Stores in various cities to
check them out, and I also try to purchase each of my products at a
different location. My first iPhone was purchased at a store on Long Island,
with other purchases over the years at Apple Stores in Manhattan; Amsterdam;
Boca Raton, Florida; Honolulu, etc. While on the road in Texas, I decided I
would give a local store a try. I had learned from a colleague that there
was a deaf employee who worked at this store, so I decided to take my
Bluetooth keyboard with me, along with my braille display and iPhone.
The Interaction
This employee was a user of American Sign Language, which, as I said above,
is not my strongest language. After briefly introducing myself to the
employee using tactile sign language, I presented him with the keyboard and
my iPhone that already had a pre-typed message which read similar to the
following: "It's good to meet you! As you can tell, my sign language skills
are small, but if you use the keyboard to type, I can use my braille display
to type back to you. If you understand, please tap me on the shoulder and
begin writing. Thanks!" After a tap on the shoulder, I began reading on my
braille display what the employee was typing on the Bluetooth keyboard. I
then replied to him by typing my responses in braille, which iOS translated
in to plain text on the screen of the iPhone. The interaction was a bit
choppy, only because there were so many other Bluetooth devices in the area.
A few times, my braille display came unpaired from my iPhone, which I was
able to resolve by shutting off the display and locking and unlocking my
iPhone.
Though the Bluetooth connection presented an issue, we were still able to
make the transaction work... I have the iPod touch seventh generation to
prove it. Apple's built-in accessibility features permitted me to bridge a
language gap and to conduct business successfully.
The Issue
Though successful in this case, the challenge I presented above often
prevents me from using this solution as a reliable method of communication
within environments where many other Bluetooth devices are active. This
applies to not only places such as Apple Stores, but also to conventions,
crowded restaurants, etc.; and it even will depend heavily on how many other
Bluetooth devices you have connected to your iOS device. For example, I
often have four or five devices always connected to my iPhone XR. These
include the <https://www.afb.org/aw/20/1/14990> Dot Watch, a braille
display, 2 hearing aids, and sometimes a Bluetooth keyboard. When all of
these devices are connected at the same time, the connection between some of
them will randomly drop out. Specific to hearing aids, I found that the iOS
experience became degraded when several Bluetooth devices were paired at the
same time. In the above example in the Apple Store, the only things paired
to my iOS device were the Dot Watch, Bluetooth keyboard, and braille
display.
MFi-supported hearing aid connectivity also presents many challenges, as I
<https://www.afb.org/aw/20/6/16680> outlined in my review of MFi-supported
hearing aids from a VoiceOver user's perspective. If my hearing aids are
connected, my braille display will not auto-connect as quickly. Some
Bluetooth keyboards struggle more than others to keep up with typing when
the hearing aids are paired. I also found that when setting up a new iPhone
and using Bluetooth to transfer settings from an older device, the transfer
failed repeatedly until I unpaired my hearing aids.
A Solution on the Horizon?
Accessories on iOS devices such as braille displays are entirely dependent
on Bluetooth. If you have no ability to hear or see the screen to
reestablish a connection to the iOS device, and the pairing breaks, you are
no longer able to use your iOS device. In circumstances such as what I
listed above, it also often leads to a fluid interaction becoming very
choppy. This problem is not unique to Apple, as Android devices also depend
on a Bluetooth connection for braille display connectivity. Like iOS
devices, they also suffer from similar pairing issues.
In 2018, the Universal Serial Bus Implementers Forum (USB-IF) approved a new
Human Interface Device (HID)
<https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/31/apple-backs-standard-braille/>
standard for braille displays. USB-IF is a non-profit organization comprised
of many industry-leading companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Google.
Their goal is to advance USB technology to make it more useable for
consumers. What this means for consumers is that, if both the braille
display manufacturer and mainstream technology manufacturer support it, you
will be able to start a screen reader, plug a display in via USB, and have
access to braille with no further effort required. It will be unnecessary to
find and install drivers, connect via Bluetooth, or change settings before
plugging your display into a USB port supporting the new standard. What this
also means is that you are no longer dependent on Bluetooth paring for your
braille display to maintain the connection. True, there will be a wire
running from your device to the braille display, but if you are in a setting
where a lot of interaction is required, it should be a more fluid one for
those who depend on it. This also will eliminate at least one of my
connected devices from interfering with the others already connected, thus
making everything else more stable. At this time, I often will connect my
hearing aids via the lightning to 3.5MM dongle to help offset this issue.
Though the standard was passed in May of 2018, as far as I'm aware, no
mainstream manufacturers are supporting it yet.
<http://blog.freedomscientific.com/usbhid1/> Vispero was the first to
announce that they will support the standard at some stage, but as far as I
know, this still has not happened. Orbit Research
<https://www.orbitresearch.com/orbit-research-announces-support-for-the-new-
usb-hid-standard-for-braille-displays/> announced late last year that the
latest firmware of the Orbit Reader 20 supported the standard. Humanware
<https://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?transcript&m=21563> announced at
the ATIA conference in January 2020 that its forthcoming collaborative
efforts into the braille display market with APH will also support the
standard when it's released.
Although this new standard could be very promising for blind and deaf-blind
users, there has not been any updates from the likes of Apple, Google or
other mainstream tech companies. Some news to counteract this forward
development is the rumor that Apple may
<https://www.cnet.com/news/will-apple-get-rid-charging-port-too-all-signs-po
int-portless-iphones/> develop a portless iPhone to be released next year.
If so, it is my hope that an equally capable iPhone will hit the market
which still has the charging port. Failure of Apple to take this into
account would mean that individuals such as myself will be even more
dependent on Bluetooth technology which has proven unreliable when working
with multiple devices. A portless iPhone would mean that there would no
longer be options to plug in dongles (including for things like hearing aids
and braille displays), leading to a user experience which would be both
degraded and significantly less accessible
Conclusion
My experience at the Apple Store interacting with the deaf employee would
never have been able to directly take place without the advancement of
accessibility features. On one hand, Apple is to be commended for their work
in this area to make a portable solution such as this possible. On the other
hand, there is still work which must be done. While wireless technology
works for those using one or two devices, it is my concern that those of us
who have been forced to depend on it for too much may be looking at a
regression in terms of accessibility should Apple release an iPhone with no
ports. It is my hope that future wireless technology will be more
dependable, so that it can one day make hardware connections obsolete. Until
such time, however, it is my further hope that Apple will keep the
hard-wired connection on its devices for those of us who depend on it for
our personal and professional livelihoods.
Submitted by Scott Davert - Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team.
===========================================================
The fb-exchange mailing list
Manage account, subscribe or unsubscribe:
//www.freelists.org/list/fb-exchange
Archives: //www.freelists.org/archives/fb-exchange ;
Administrative contact: insight@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
===========================================================
