Linked List: May 19, 2021

Wednesday, 19 May 2021

Apple Previews New Accessibility Features, Including an Astonishing AssistiveTouch Feature for Apple Watch 

Apple Newsroom:

Later this year, with software updates across all of Apple’s operating systems, people with limb differences will be able to navigate Apple Watch using AssistiveTouch; iPad will support third-party eye-tracking hardware for easier control; and for blind and low vision communities, Apple’s industry-leading VoiceOver screen reader will get even smarter using on-device intelligence to explore objects within images. In support of neurodiversity, Apple is introducing new background sounds to help minimize distractions, and for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, Made for iPhone (MFi) will soon support new bi-directional hearing aids.

My spidey-sense has been suggesting that next month’s WWDC is going to be a big one, jam-packed with announcements. Here’s our first evidence: a slew of very good accessibility features that apparently didn’t make the cut for the keynote. All of this stuff would have been great in a keynote.

To support users with limited mobility, Apple is introducing a revolutionary new accessibility feature for Apple Watch. AssistiveTouch for watchOS allows users with upper body limb differences to enjoy the benefits of Apple Watch without ever having to touch the display or controls. Using built-in motion sensors like the gyroscope and accelerometer, along with the optical heart rate sensor and on-device machine learning, Apple Watch can detect subtle differences in muscle movement and tendon activity, which lets users navigate a cursor on the display through a series of hand gestures, like a pinch or a clench. AssistiveTouch on Apple Watch enables customers who have limb differences to more easily answer incoming calls, control an onscreen motion pointer, and access Notification Center, Control Center, and more.

Stop what you’re doing, follow the link to Newsroom, and watch the video demonstrating this feature. This is really hard to believe. It makes Apple Watch very accessible to, say, someone who only has one arm, or who for whatever reason can’t use their non-watch hand to touch the watch with accuracy. Wow.

Amazon Partners With Tile to Take on AirTags 

Jon Fortt and Fahiemah Al-Ali, reporting for CNBC:

Amazon announced Friday that it is partnering with Tile, a company that makes trackers for lost items, and Level, which makes smart locks, to use those devices to enhance its tracking network based on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology. […]

Tile has also been vocal against Apple’s entry into the lost-item tracking space, recently telling Congress that it and other app developers are “afraid” of Apple’s policies for third-party apps and hardware accessories.

Amazon’s partnership will allow it beef up its tracking network, called Sidewalk, by letting Tile and Level devices tap into the Bluetooth networks created by millions of its Echo products. Tile will start working with Amazon’s network beginning June 14.

Something tells me Tile is not going to be joining Apple’s third-party program for “Find My” anytime soon.

People in Japan Can Now Earn 10,000-Yen Bounties for Scamming Scammers 

Casey Baseel, writing for SoraNews24:

On May 1, the Minami Precinct of the Aichi Prefectural Police, which serves and protects the city of Nagoya’s Minami Ward, launched a new aspect of Operation Pretend to Be Fooled. This new crime-fighting program asks people who’ve been contacted by someone claiming to be a loved one in need of cash to notify the police, then work with them to draw the scammer out. For each case in which their cooperation leads to the identification of scammers, the original target of the scam will be paid 10,000 yen (US$97).

Brilliant.