Microsoft Seeing AI Update Lets Blind Users Explore Photos By Touch
Microsoft updates its Seeing AI app for iOS to let visually impaired users explore photos through touch-based audio descriptions. The update also brings native iPad support and interface customization options.
Microsoft updates its Seeing AI app for iOS with a groundbreaking feature that allows blind and visually impaired users to explore photos by touch. By tapping a finger on an image, users hear a description of the objects in the scene as well as their spatial relationship to one another. This tactile exploration works not only with photos taken directly through the app's Scene channel, but also with images stored in the device's camera roll and other applications.
The latest upgrade also introduces native iPad support to the accessibility tool. This expansion to larger devices proves crucial for workers who face workplace restrictions against using smartphones in certain environments, as it opens the door to using Seeing AI in those previously inaccessible spaces.
Alongside these major additions, Microsoft makes several subtler improvements to enhance the overall user experience. The update includes options for customizing the channel order and provides faster access to face recognition features, ensuring that users navigate the app more efficiently whether or not they have pictures on hand.