INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Steven Aquino
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Steven Aquino is a freelance tech writer and
iOS accessibility expert.
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For Apple, this year Global Accessibility Awareness Day is all about
education
What Apple education announcements mean for accessibility
Apple has one hardware-specific feature planned that
wasn&t announced at Monday WWDC keynote
In iOS 12, users will be able to use Live Listen, a special feature previously reserved for hearing aids certified through Apple Made for
iPhone hearing aid program, with their AirPods.
After enabling the feature in the iPhone settings, users will be able to use their phones
effectively as a directional mic
This means you can have AirPods in at a noisy restaurant with your iPhone on the table, for example, and the voice of whomever is speaking
will be routed to your AirPods.
Live Listen is a feature Apple developed and eventually launched in 2014 that allows iPhone users with
hearing aids to hear people in noisy environments or from across a room, such as a crowded restaurant or lecture hall
If a compatible hearing aid is paired to a user phone, there are options to turn Live Listen on and off, adjust volume and even set it as
their preferred Accessibility Shortcut.
Live Listen support in AirPods is key
The inclusion of this feature makes AirPods more capable and more alluring; it significant given they are almost universally hailed as one
of Apple best products in years
Soon, anyone — particularly someone with limited hearing — will have access to this feature without needing to buy dedicated hardware to
get it.
Still, it critical to note AirPods with Live Listen is not a full replacement for a hearing aid
It obviously best to speak with your audiologist to determine the best solution for your ears.
