iOS 11 and Accessibility

Great overview by Steven Aquino on the Accessibility changes coming with iOS 11. In particular, he’s got the details on Type to Siri, a new option for keyboard interaction with the assistant:

Available on iOS and the Mac, Type to Siri is a feature whereby a user can interact with Siri via an iMessage-like UI. Apple says the interaction is one-way; presently it’s not possible to simultaneously switch between text and voice. There are two caveats, however. The first is, it’s possible to use the system-wide Siri Dictation feature (the mic button on the keyboard) in conjunction with typing. Therefore, instead of typing everything, you can dictate text and send commands thusly. The other caveat pertains to “Hey Siri.” According to a macOS Siri engineer on Twitter, who responded to this tweet I wrote about the feature, it seems Type to Siri is initiated only by a press of the Home button. The verbal “Hey Siri” trigger will cause Siri to await voice input as normal.

Technicalities aside, Type to Siri is a feature many have clamored for, and should prove useful across a variety of situations. In an accessibility context, this feature should be a boon for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, who previously may have felt excluded from using Siri due to its voice-first nature. It levels the playing field by democratizing the technology, opening up Siri to an even wider group of people.

I wish there was a way to switch between voice and keyboard input from the same UI, but retaining the ‘Hey Siri’ voice activation seems like a sensible trade-off. I’m probably going to enable Type to Siri on my iPad, where I’m typing most of the time anyway, and where I could save time with “Siri templates” made with native iOS Text Replacements.