Apple improves iPhone accessibility by including a feature dedicated to the deaf in iOS 14: how to activate and how Sound Recognition works
In the new version of its mobile operating system, Apple improves the accessibility of its iPhone for deaf people as well. The Sound Recognition built into iOS 14 allows you to receive a notification when a noise is detected and identified, such as a barking dog or the siren of an alarm.
The Cupertino company's goal is to make its iPhone a powerful tool that can allow everyone to communicate. For this reason, in addition to sound recognition, the iOS 14 operating system offers other interesting features that implement accessibility, such as FaceTime that can detect people who use sign language and give them prominence in video chat, or the ability to customize AirPods to better listen to certain frequencies. There are about 20 new accessibility features and they all take advantage of the artificial intelligence developed by Apple.
Sound Recognition, how to activate it with iOS 14
The activation of the new feature for the deaf in iOS 14 for iPhone is very simple. The user will have to follow the path Accessibility > Settings; Sound Recognition and then tap to activate it. Una volta selezionato, si aprirà una pagina che mostra la quantità di spazio di archiviazione utilizzata dalla funzione e una breve descrizione delle sue caratteristiche.
Nella schermata Apple lascia anche un avvertimento: la funzione non deve essere utilizzata per nessuna circostanza di emergenza o in cui l’utente potrebbe ferirsi. Un avviso che fa desumere come la funzione non sia ancora perfezionata e la società di Cupertino non si ritiene responsabile di quello che potrebbe accadere se non funziona sempre al 100%.
Attivando la funzione, si apre una schermata Suoni che permette di personalizzare il tipo di suono per il quale si desidera ricevere una notifica. L’utente potrà scegliere tra un elenco di 11 voci divise tra Allarmi, Animali, Casa e Persone. Ecco tutte le voci disponibili:
- Allarmi: Incendio, Sirena, Fumo
- Animali: Gatto, Cane
- Casa: Elettrodomestici, Clacson, Campanello, Qualcuno che bussa alla porta, Acqua che scorre
- Persone: Child crying
After exiting settings, you can continue to use your iPhone normally, and if it recognizes a sound even while in the background, the phone will send a notification "(sound type) The sound that was recognized could be...". Each recognition will produce a notification, which can also be viewed in your iPhone's Notification Center.
Sound Recognition disables Hey Siri: here's why
When the first sound is triggered, a pop-up notification warns that Hey Siri won't be available when Sound Recognition is enabled, because both iOS 14 features require access to passive smartphone listening and can't work simultaneously.
To use Siri when Sound Recognition is enabled, you'll therefore need to do so from the iPhone's Home or side button. Otherwise, you can continue to use Hey Siri on the AirPods.