To Boldly Go: The New Frontiers of Accessibility
Summary
Key Insights
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Accessibility began as a niche, third-party add-on viewed as a charitable hack rather than a core design responsibility.
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Early computing accessibility utilized mainly text-based interfaces, making screen reading simpler compared to modern GUIs.
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Apple’s VoiceOver on the iPhone 3GS marked a pivotal shift by integrating accessibility directly into the OS, enabling no-sighted-person setup.
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Third-party screen readers and assistive tech have consolidated over time due to the complexity of GUI accessibility.
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Gaming accessibility currently mirrors early desktop accessibility with mostly reverse-engineered third-party solutions lacking standard APIs.
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AR and VR accessibility is in its infancy, with major tech companies actively researching but no dominant solutions yet.
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Innovations in accessibility often produce features that benefit all users, such as voice control, dark mode, and multi-touch enhancements.
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Present accessibility challenges include multi-modal info presentation, hands-free interactions, AI bias prevention, and cloud-based app accessibility.
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The first company to solve AR/VR accessibility stands to gain a long-term market advantage similar to Apple’s early mobile accessibility lead.
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Involving real users with disabilities directly in research and design leads to more effective and grounded accessibility solutions.
Notable Quotes
"I myself am a full-time screen reader user. I have been a screen reader user all my life, as I am completely blind."
"There isn’t a time I can remember where there wasn’t a computer talking to me."
"Accessibility was just a clever trick that some charitable organization or someone who wanted to give back would do almost for fun."
"The Apple 3GS and the accessibility that was developed by Apple was a massive shift."
"With Apple, I could pick up any phone and triple-click the home button and VoiceOver would come on."
"Accessibility is no longer considered something that someone else should do — it’s a first-party responsibility."
"Whenever someone makes a game accessible today, it’s considered an inspiring hack not a built-in feature."
"We are beginning to see cycles of history repeat themselves in accessibility, especially in gaming and AR/VR."
"When we solve accessibility problems, we create innovations that benefit everyone, not just people with disabilities."
"No company has a dominant advantage in AR/VR accessibility yet, but that will change in the coming years."
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