Category: accessibility

accessibility, ASL, Global IT News, Global Security News, max, Media & Entertainment, streaming, the last of us

‘The Last of Us’ to stream in American Sign Language on Max

March 19, 2025

Max announced on Wednesday that the HBO series “The Last of Us” will be available to stream in American Sign Language (ASL). Season 2 premieres on April 13. Notably, this is the first time HBO’s original content will be accessible for streaming in ASL on the service, representing a step towards inclusivity for deaf and…

Android is adding Auracast support, which allows hearing aids to connect to public audio broadcasts

March 13, 2025

Google announced on Thursday that Android phones will soon support Auracast, a new Bluetooth technology that uses a phone to enable a direct connection from hearing aids to audio broadcasts in noisy environments. With Auracast, compatible hearing aids and earbuds can receive direct audio streams, such as a PA system at a train station or…

Samsung Unpacked 2025: Google is bringing improved hearing aid features

January 22, 2025

Alongside a slew of announcements tied to Samsung’s Galaxy S25 launch at Samsung Unpacked 2025 on Wednesday, Google announced a pair of accessibility improvements for Android. This includes improvements to the screen reader, along with hearing aid functionality. The hearing aid updates arrive after Google expanded the offering as part of its Android 15 rollout.…

These startups are making smarter canes for people with visual impairments

January 10, 2025

The white cane for the 21st century. While many tech companies have increasingly worked to make technology more accessible for the blind and visually impaired, canes haven’t benefitted much from these advances. London-born WeWalk takes a more traditional approach to the white cane. Beyond the bulkier handle, not much sets the company’s product apart visually…

Soliddd is building smart glasses for people with macular degeneration

January 6, 2025

For the past several years, the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center have been lousy with AR/VR/XR smart glasses. While the some of the biggest names in tech, like Apple and Google, have struggled to gain traction in the category, accessible tech remains relatively unexplored. There’s a lot of work to be done in…

FTC orders AI accessibility startup accessiBe to pay $1M for misleading advertising

January 3, 2025

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined accessiBe, a startup that claims to make websites more compatible with the screen readers blind people rely on to access the internet, for false advertising and compensating reviewers without disclosing that it sponsored the reviews. In a proposed order, the FTC would require accessiBe to pay $1 million…

Amazon Fire TV introduces ‘Dual Audio’ feature for simultaneous listening via hearing aids and TV speakers

December 18, 2024

Amazon announced on Wednesday new accessibility features for Fire TV, including a notable “Dual Audio” capability for the newly launched Fire TV Omni Mini-LED Series, which was unveiled in November. The new feature allows one user to listen through a hearing aid while others in the same room can enjoy audio through the TV’s built-in…