Passports Make Apple Wallet even more Accessible

Following yesterday’s news of the iPhone Pocket, Apple on Wednesday announced United States passports can now be added to Apple Wallet as part of the app’s “Digital ID” feature, currently launching in beta. The announcement comes months after the company previously said would be coming “later this year” during WWDC back in June.

According to Apple, Digital ID is “a secure and private way for users to create an ID in Apple Wallet using information from their U.S. passport, and present their ID with iPhone or Apple Watch.” Apple has posted a video showing how to add IDs to Wallet.

“Apple today announced the launch of Digital ID, a new way for users to create an ID in Apple Wallet using information from their U.S. passport, and present it with the security and privacy of iPhone or Apple Watch,” the company wrote. “At launch, Digital ID acceptance will roll out first in beta at TSA checkpoints at more than 250 airports in the U.S. for in-person identity verification during domestic travel, with additional Digital ID acceptance use cases to come in the future. Digital ID gives more people a way to create and present an ID in Apple Wallet even if they do not have a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or state ID. Digital ID is not a replacement for a physical passport, and cannot be used for international travel and border crossing in lieu of a U.S. passport.”

As Apple notes, a double-press of the Side Button on an iPhone (or Apple Watch) will give users access to Apple Wallet and their digitized IDs, which someone then can present to TSA at the security checkpoint. Personally, I got my first-ever passport a couple of years ago, and have used it once to visit Vancouver, BC in 2023. Apple’s Jennifer Bailey, who leads Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said in a statement for the press release the company has noticed how much customers “love having their ID right on their devices” for convenience and privacy, but as I’ve argued innumerable times over the years, digital IDs are a huge win for accessibility too. Although I do carry my physical wallet, including my passport, when I travel, that I now can add the latter to Apple Wallet on my phone means it’s more accessible once I get to security. Traversing airports as a disabled person isn’t fun most times, and while having TSA Pre-Check helps a ton, my already sky-high anxiety shoots into the stratosphere when I have to fly somewhere because of the rigamarole and relative inaccessibility of air travel. If I again travel internationally, I can take solace in the fact I needn’t have to worry about forgetting my tactile passport because I have a legally valid facsimile on my phone. What’s more, I needn’t have to dig through my bag and physical wallet to get to it—which is a bear in terms of vision and hand-eye coordination. I can use my iPhone or Apple Watch instead.

Apple, Issey Miyake Announce New ‘iPhone pocket’

In a surprise announcement, Apple on Tuesday unveiled a new iPhone accessory: the iPhone Pocket. The limited edition product is the result of a collaboration with Japanese design brand Issey Miyake. Apple says iPhone Pocket “features a singular 3D-knitted construction designed to fit any iPhone,” akin to Vision Pro’s Solo and Dual Knit Bands.

A “short strap” iPhone Pocket costs $150, while a “long strap” is $230. They’ll be available online and in select Apple Stores starting this Friday, according to Apple.

“iPhone Pocket features a ribbed open structure with the qualities of the original pleats by Issey Miyake,” Apple said of its newfound accessory for the iPhone. “Born from the idea of creating an additional pocket, its understated design fully encloses iPhone, expanding to fit more of a user’s everyday items. When stretched, the open textile subtly reveals its contents and allows users to peek at their iPhone display. iPhone Pocket can be worn in a variety of ways—handheld, tied onto bags, or worn directly on the body. Featuring a playful color palette, the short strap design is available in eight colors, and the long strap design in three colors.”

As John Voorhees rightly notes, the advent of iPhone Pocket immediately conjures memories of Apple’s iPod Socks with their similarities in both conceit and design. The same goes for the iPhone Crossbody Strap. In fact, the latter proved to be one of the most fascinating bits from September’s iPhone 17 event; I got to play with one in the hands-on area following the presentation, and it occurred to me the accessory might prove useful for accessibility for someone who, like me, oftentimes travels with my blind cane in tow. Apple included a Crossbody Strap (in black) in my iPhone 17 review kit.

At a high level, I’m curious about iPhone Pocket because of—what else?—accessibility, obviously. iPhone accessories—or Apple Watch bands or Vision Pro straps, for that matter—are prime examples of the notion that hardware accessibility matters just as much as software accessibility. To wit, having an Apple Watch does no good if a disabled person can’t reliably get it on (and off) their wrist. Likewise, what good is there in getting iPhone Pocket if one struggles to use it? I often say accessibility lies everywhere, and things like hand-eye coordination and fine-motor skills are crucial considerations when someone contemplates accessories. Is iPhone Pocket accessible? It’s a valid question, something that also reminds why adaptive clothing exists. Snaps and/or Velcro can be more accessible fasteners to certain people than, say, traditional buttons or zippers. So it goes for iPhone accessories… as a disabled person, it’s only natural to question the utility of something like iPhone Pocket when something ostensibly simple and straightforward can be confounding and complex.

Getting Reacquainted with Apple watch Ultra

When Apple mailed me my proverbial goodie box of new iPhones for review back in September, the company included the also-new Apple Watch Series 11. As a Series 10 user, I initially was inclined not to open the Series 11 because I thought what I had was good enough. And it is, except I determined I really do like the new space gray finish on Series 11. In fact, I’ve been wearing it mainly for that reason over the last several weeks.

Last week, however, I was trying to clean the calamity known as my “office” in the dining room when I came across my original Apple Watch Ultra. It’d been a while since I last worn (and reviewed) it, and I was immediately struck by the bigness of its screen and by the niceness of its titanium build. The moment of admiration got me wondering if perhaps I should reconsider wearing the Ultra; after all, I figured, an Apple Watch’s screen is tiny relative to that of my iPhone Air, for instance, and it would be sensible to want the biggest version of the smallest display for accessibility’s sake. So, I charged the Ultra’s battery, repaired it with my phone—you can have multiple Apple Watches paired to your iPhone now—and upgraded its software to run the latest watchOS 26.

After all was said and done, I strapped the OG Ultra to my wrist for a few hours.

My initial impression was twofold: I was delighted by the aforementioned bigness of the Ultra’s screen while slightly aghast at the device’s heaviness on my wrist. As an Apple Watch’s screen is so small, it isn’t something I want to stare at for more than a minute or two; the Ultra’s 49mm case reminded me why I adored it—it is so easy to see the clock, complications, and notifications. By contrast, however, heavy is the wrist that wears Apple Watch Ultra. The Faustian bargain of using iPhone Plus/Pro Max models is just as apt here: you can have the big, beautiful screen, but you must incur the cost of using a relatively unwieldy object in return. Like I said about iPhone Air last month, what I found so endearing about Apple Watch Series 10 last year was its Goldilocks attributes; I can have a “good enough” screen size (46mm) in a form factor that’s considerably lighter—and less conspicuous—on my body. Put another way, it’s not that I can’t cope with the compromises of Apple Watch Ultra (or iPhone Pro Max) practically speaking. It’s more that Apple offers alternative models which helpfully give me the best of both worlds.

All that said, this brief dalliance with my old Ultra has me curious about the new one. I like the new Double Tap and wrist-flick gestures in watchOS, and the giant screen is undoubtedly alluring. What’s more, I am appreciative of the handsomeness of Apple Watch Ultra as a fashion piece—especially the black finish. I think it looks really nice.

We’ll see what the future holds, but as happy as I’ve been with my Series 10/11, I’m happy to have confronted my complacency and revisited the Ultra, even for just a little while.

Glassbox chief technology officer Yaron Gueta Talks digital Accessibility, Automation, more in interview

When I connected recently with Yaron Gueta, the co-founder and chief technology officer at Glassbox explained to me his company is devoted to “how we can make the life of our customers simpler” and we discussed how that ethos pertains to accessibility. On its website, Glassbox boasts its mantra is to “[reveal] the insights that empower organizations to deliver better digital customer experiences.” In terms of disability inclusion, the heart of the matter lies in Glassbox’s next sentence: “When we help our customers create better experiences for their customers, everyone wins.”

According to Gueta, serving the disability community vis-a-vis accessibility extends further than complying to Americans with Disabilities Act regulations or WCAG standards. Indeed, he pointedly mentioned the elderly population for whom, he said, consuming digital content can be hard due to elements like small font sizes. Aging, Gueta went on to tell me, isn’t often thought of as needing accommodation(s); but many people who are older have disabilities and, as such, could benefit from things like larger, more accessible text on the web. Gueta himself even acknowledged, as someone of a certain age, he has trouble at times reading smaller print on websites.

“While we [at Glassbox] were looking at the customer experience domain, we noticed that there are troubles that is actually from accessibility—but it’s not [exclusively] for people who are considered disabled,” Gueta said.

It was upon this realization that, Gueta said, the company began uttering a refrain popular amongst many accessibility-minded organizations: prioritizing accessibility isn’t merely the moral thing to do… prioritizing accessibility is savvy business practice too. Gueta noted that Glassbox began educating its customers on how, if they invested in good accessibility, “you are going to help between 25% to 30% of your audience.”

To illustrate his point, Gueta pointed to one of “a dozen examples” of struggle that makes up what he described as “rage click.” Rage click, he explained, occurs when a user repeatedly clicks a button, expecting it to do something, and it fails to do anything. The same goes for something he called “dead zoom,” whereby a user attempts to zoom in on a page to no avail. The website (or app) doesn’t support zooming APIs, he added.

In both cases, most people wave the proverbial white flag.

“They abandoned what they were trying to do,” Gueta said.

The reason Gueta can cite such detailed information is because Glassbox’s software works continuously in the background, churning away 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This automation is more conducive to not only providing better accessibility for end users, but for quality assurance staffers as well. Rather than a human using what Gueta called “widgets” to manually check for accessibility every time, Glassbox makes those checks more accessible unto itself by using technology to handle the grunt work.

As a practical matter, Gueta said while major enterprises such as financial institutions and whatnot do employ teams dedicated to sniffing out accessibility, human curation goes only so far—which is precisely where Glassbox comes in to flex its muscle. Its software, he told me, is able to detect “dozens and dozens” of accessibility problems that, bless their hearts and hard work, a human team was bound to overlook. But with Glassbox’s technology in tow, Gueta said these companies’ teams have the ability to “have visibility” to unearth more issues and fix them accordingly. In other words, Gueta said Glassbox gives enterprises the chance to move their mindsets beyond sheer legal compliance into more moral, do-right-unto-others action. Glassbox provides a clearer pathway for such a shift. It’s about intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivation.

When asked about the feedback Glassbox receives from its customers, Gueta said he believes the company is gaining “very good traction” with its product. Interest is high “across the board,” he added, and the overarching mission resonates deeply with all.

Looking towards the future, Gueta expressed enthusiasm for—what else?—artificial intelligence. He was effusive in his praise for generative AI’s capability to extend the work of companies like his. It will help make spotting problem even easier and more efficient, while giving teams the opportunity to address issues “on the fly,” he said. The use of artificial intelligence will also prove more budget-friendly to companies as well.

What’s next for Glassbox? “Autonomous fixes for accessibility issues,” Gueta said.

Revisiting My Relationship with Apple Vision Pro

Apple this week released its 26.1 updates to its panoply of platforms, including visionOS. Because life has been hectic over the last several months, my Vision Pro—the OG, M2-powered model—sat unused (and uncharged) for some time, its software frozen in amber at the ancient 2.0.1. Monday’s release of visionOS 26.1 was fortuitous, as it provided the proverbial kick in the ass I needed to not only charge Vision Pro, but also update its software. When all was said and done, it naturally was an opportunity for me to rekindle my relationship with the fledgling highfalutin headset. So, I put it on…

I don’t have much to report right now on 26.1 itself. The headlining features include things like widgets and the ability to scroll webpages just by looking at them. I’ve yet to try widgets, but can say the visual scrolling works as advertised—and is really cool. At a high level, it strikes me as a “low level” version of the Dwell functionality on macOS insofar as you focus your eyes up or down to move accordingly. The comparison is imperfect of course—Dwell is necessary for people who literally cannot control their computer(s) via the conventional input methods—but otherwise works because the mechanics are conceptually similar. If you, like me, sometimes feel cramps at doing the pinch-to-scroll gesture in visionOS due to low muscle tone, visionOS 26’s eye-scrolling feature can be helpful as a de-facto accessibility feature. In that sense, it’s much more than technically impressive; as ever, a mainstream feature can benefit accessibility too.

I wrote last month about Apple’s announcement of its new M5 chip, which the company is using to run the base model 14” MacBook Pro and, pertinently here, the Vision Pro. In my time so far this week playing around in Vision Pro, the M2 model runs 26.1 with aplomb and I can do everything I want just fine; I see no reason to upgrade. Likewise, alongside news of the M5 Vision Pro came word of a new accessory: the Dual Knit Band. The $99 headband, which coincidentally is compatible with my model, supposedly feels nicer to wear while using Vision Pro, partly because the band at the top helps redistribute much of the Vision Pro’s considerable weightiness. Personally, I’m not that interested in the Dual Knit Band—although I could make a cogent argument for trying one for journalism’s sake. Nonetheless, the truth of the matter is I like the default Solo Knit Band very much. It exudes niceness in terms of construction, and it feels comfortable to wear for the hour or so I use Vision Pro. I have a distinct memory of initially disliking the Solo Knit Band during my briefing with Apple way back when, but that was eons ago. After getting Vision Pro home for testing, I got the Solo Knit Band to fit how I wanted it—and have loved wearing it ever since. It really is a great piece of kit.

My time revisiting Vision Pro over the last few days has been instructive in that it has reaffirmed the best use cases for me. For one thing, the device plays well to my introverted, anxiety and depression-addled self because it’s decidedly a solitary device. I know you can FaceTime and Zoom in visionOS, but I feel “alone” once I put on Vision Pro. The Mindfulness app is great for when I need a little pick-me-up, and I remain steadfast in my conviction that Vision Pro is the best product for watching video I’ve ever used. I watched this week’s episode of The Morning Show in Vision Pro and it was spectacular in the TV app’s “Cinema” environment. The picture quality is astounding, while the immersive nature of the environment makes watching stuff more accessible. Experientially, it truly does feel like you’re sitting inside a brick-and-mortar movie theater. Alas, I wish visionOS was more rife with apps beyond Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, and Pluto TV. I wish Netflix and Prime Video had native Vision Pro apps. I wish Channels had an app too. The iPadOS apps are serviceable, but they aren’t like using an app specifically and intentionally built for the Vision platform. Vision Pro will likely never become my main entertainment vehicle—I have a 77” LG C3 OLED on the living room wall, glorious in its own right—but if I’m spending time home alone, all by myself, I’d love to immerse in more movies and television shows using the headset.

Beyond entertainment value, though? I’m not sold on Vision Pro as a productivity machine. Although I’m appreciative of the ability to resize windows to my heart’s content—browsing in Safari is especially good for visual accessibility—I’m not of the mind that I want to actually do work in visionOS. The reasons for this are many, but I think the biggest one is sensory. To wit, I don’t relish being “trapped” in a headset for an hour or two, writing a story or doing email, with a heavy computer strapped to my face.

Reservations aside, Vision Pro remains damn cool—and accessible at that.

Instacart Pledges support for SNAP Recipients

San Francisco-based Instacart on Friday announced what it describes as “a new grocery offer” to help SNAP recipients and food banks more accessibly obtain food. In addition, Instacart is spearheading a nationwide food drive to support local food banks.

While not explicit, the allusion is clear: the company is announcing this move as the November 1 deadline looms for federal monies that keep programs like SNAP running.

“Starting this week, we’re offering active SNAP customers 50% off their next grocery order—up to a $50 discount. This special offer is designed to immediately help families stretch their grocery dollars, allowing them to keep nutritious staples and daily essentials in their carts and on their tables,” Instacart said in its announcement. “All eligible customers who used EBT SNAP benefits to get groceries delivered via Instacart at any point in October will receive an individual discount code via email in the coming days. This offer can be redeemed nationwide from any one of the nearly 180 retail banners and 30,000 stores that offer SNAP payments via Instacart, up to 100,000 redemptions—representing a commitment of up to $5 million in direct relief for families on SNAP.”

As the company notes, it has accepted SNAP payments since 2020. Back in March, I reported on Instacart making the actual grocery shopping more accessible by way of new features such as Smart Shop powered by—what else?—artificial intelligence.

“We’re committed to ensuring every family in every community can put food on the table,” Dani Dudeck, Instacart’s chief corporate affairs officer, said in a statement. “As SNAP funding faces unprecedented disruption and food banks brace for longer lines, we’re focused on practical, immediate solutions: helping families who use SNAP stretch their grocery dollars and helping food banks stock up to support their communities.”

As I’ve written numerous times, tech-driven services like Instacart are far more impactful than mere conduits to convenience for many folks. Indeed, things like Instacart (and DoorDash and UberEats) have immense applicability to accessibility. Not only are they driven by what’s ostensibly every person’s primary computer in their smartphone, the truth of the matter is the on-demand, door-to-door nature means a disabled person who, for instance, cannot—or should not—leave their house for medical and/or logistical reasons still has access to groceries readily available. What’s more, those people who are on SNAP get a win-win: their food can be had in just a few taps and delivered to their doorstep all the while taking comfort in the fact their purchase was less expensive. In a nutshell, Instacart is a true lifesaver for a not-insignificant portion of the population—and that doesn’t take into account a historically-long government shutdown prompting action from Instacart and others.

Relatedly, Easterseals CEO Kendra Davenport said earlier this week the lapse in SNAP funding means the disability community will be amongst “the hardest hit,” rubbing salt in their proverbial wounds as people with disabilities “already face higher living costs and barriers to employment. Losing food support will only deepen hardship,” she said.

Davenport continued: “No political disagreement should stand in the way of feeding Americans. We urge Congress and the administration to find every way to keep programs like SNAP remain funded and protected, regardless of any government shutdown. This includes exploring the release of USDA contingency funding and passing the bipartisan efforts in both Houses of Congress to ensure benefits continue.”

Founded in 1919, Easterseals is America’s oldest disability rights organization.

Inside Fashion Institute of Technology’s ‘Adapt/Evolve’ Exhibition

The New York City-based Fashion Institute of Technology earlier this month ran an exhibit, called Adapt/Evolve, which the school describes as a “multidisciplinary exhibition that considers various approaches to designing for accessibility as well as adaptive design’s relationship to culture and society.” The projects on display, ranging from “stylish mobility aids” to other things which “prioritize both function and human dignity,” were meant to “bring to light a network of care, interdependence, and access to good design for all, paving the way to a built world that supports everyone,” per FIT.

Adapt/Evolve was announced in August and ran September 18 through October 26.

I recently sat down with Troy Richards and Fawz Kabra via videoconference to discuss Adapt/Evolve; Richards serves as FIT’s dean of the art and design school, whilst Kabra works as curator of the art and design gallery. At a high level, Kabra explained the overarching goal of the gallery was to “show what we are doing at FIT in terms of adaptive and inclusive design, and also see how it is also in conversation with people around us [in NYC].” Designing for disability, she added, has relevance to a vast cross-section of real-world products from children’s toys to furniture to jewelry to fashion and more. The intent with Adapt/Evolve was to showcase as much of possible “the array of imagination and creative solutions these artists and designers have come up with.”

“We’re so excited about this exhibition,” Richards said.

My conversation with Richards and Kabra rekindled my relationship with FIT. One of my bigger stories of 2024 was my interview with now-retired president, Dr. Joyce Brown.

Richards went on to tell me accessibility conceptually is “really important” to everyone at FIT, as the school strives to foster a diverse and inclusive learning environment. He noted that when leaders first bandied about ideas for what would eventually become Adapt/Evolve, something that proved especially exciting on campus was the work already being done through an inclusivity-tinted lens—to wit, Richards shared an anecdote about one such project being worked on for autism research in collaboration with a school for autistic children in New York City. A focal point, he added, is universal design, and the project involved toys that had what he called “universal appeal.”

“These are [product] designs that allow for greater accessibility for groups of people who have different disabilities,” Richards said. “But also they become just [examples of] good design, and we see that by thinking of these people with these with specific needs… we can actually make life better for everybody. It actually makes things easier for all of us, and makes a more comfortable and a better designed world.”

That Richards emphasized FIT’s commitment to diversity and inclusion vis-a-vis accessibility speaks to the school’s ethos on greater inclusion generally. FIT, part of New York State’s SUNY system, exists to “introduce students to the different careers available to them in art and design,” Richards told me, and its mission is to “encourage as many people from different backgrounds to think of the opportunities to consider these opportunities In art design because we value their voices [and] their vision.”

He continued: “It’s really those diverse visions that will help us solve some of the more challenging problems that we face in our world and in our country. We need as many people engaged in this creative work as possible. This is something that all of our faculty take very seriously that [attending FIT] is a transformational education.”

For her part, Kabra echoed Richards’ sentiments by sharing the story of one of the exhibition’s stars in Haley Schwartz, a FIT alum and who copes with chronic illness. Schwartz is behind adaptive apparel company Vetige Adaptive, with Kabra saying Schwartz is devoted to designing clothing which are “beautiful and stylish and fun and joyful, but also accessible” to people who, for instance, must deal with a colostomy bag or oxygen bag. Vertige’s designs have been thoughtfully created to accommodate such medical devices by way of pouches, enabling wearers to maintain their stylistic sensibilities (not to mention their dignity) while lugging around decidedly unstylish kit.

There are countless other examples of the concept, but Kabra’s larger point was simply that accessibility and design can, in fact, go hand-in-hand if they’re blended with intentionality. Former students such as Schwartz, Kabra added, have left FIT and gone onto their professional lives, thriving “working within the field of adaptive design.”

“I’m so happy we have these alums participating in the exhibition,” Richards said.

When asked how Adapt/Evolve journeyed from conception to fruition, Richards said the impetus is pretty personal on his end. His mother was diagnosed with ALS in 2017, around the time he assumed his perch at FIT, and passed away a year later after what he called an “aggressive” form of the disease. The heartbreaking part was not merely that Richards’ mom succumbed, but it was how she rapidly lost things like her mobility and overall independence. The job with FIT, Richards told me, was a prime opportunity to “encourage our departments to explore accessible [and] adaptive design so that people who who struggle with these types of conditions or have different disabilities.”

Thus, Adapt/Evolve was a literal manifestation of those ideals.

“[Creating the exhibition] was definitely an exciting process,” Kabra added.

“What we saw and wanted to bring to light is this network of care and kind of interdependence… people taking it upon themselves to do things for their community: for their friends, their neighbors,” she said of the raison d'être for FIT’s Adapt/Evolve exhibition. “[There’s] also a desire for art be to accessible and show good design for everybody so that we visualize like this ‘built world’ that is supportive of everybody. As we were putting together a checklist, we could see the artists and the designers are redefining accessible design… they’re creating these stylish garments, stylish mobility aids, and these community-focused solutions that prioritize both the function and the human, as well as human dignity. That [notion] really came to view for us.”

Both Richards and Kabra reiterated the belief that FIT and accessibility are inextricably tied. Richards said Adapt/Evolve is “a great start” to instilling the idea to students, as he noted many students graduate and go onto careers in fashion and/or design. More pointedly, he said the exhibition is a great forum from which to extol the virtues that accessibility is “vital” to design—in other words, accessibility isn’t something that can, or should, be an afterthought or bolted on at the end. The exhibition raises more awareness of that sentiment to students. "I keep thinking about how so many of the works demonstrate that accessible design is good design, and these are things that people will want in their own lives. “It makes [products] that much more inclusive… it makes the world that much easier for everyone to engage in,” Richards said.

Kabra concurred, telling me Adapt/Evolve is “definitely creating more visibility and shining a light on everyone has been very kind of important for this project.” She went on to say the exhibition is more or less a proof of concept of sorts, insofar as this year’s event gives her “bits” that she can “follow through other exhibitions” with accessibility top of mind from the outset. To prioritize accessibility is to prioritize empathy for all.

Feedback-wise, Richards said the reception to Adapt/Evolve has been “wonderful.” He shared an anecdote about an attendee who lives in Queens and doesn’t venture into Manhattan very often. The person, Richards said, made the sojourn to the exhibition primarily because most things of FIT’s kind don’t emphasize accessibility and inclusive design. The novelty of which “really excited him.” Moreover, Richards mentioned he’s heard similar effusive sentiments from both fellow faculty members and students alike.

“They find [the event] to be an important topic to be to be explored,” Richards said.

For her part, Kabra told me a group of alumni students built a fully accessible website for Adapt/Evolve and noted the site’s design “considers people with disability and and presents beautiful, contemporary and fresh work.” Overall, Kabra said there was “lots of excitement” over the event, and has proven itself “a pleasant surprise” for FIT staffers.

Looking towards the future, both Richards and Kabra reaffirmed their commitment to continuing the work in amplifying accessibility and, by extension, the disability community. Notably, Richards said FIT is in the process of developing a minor in Adaptive Design that’s interdisciplinary such that students get the chance to “get more focus” on the topic. Adapt/Evolve, he went on, isn’t a one-off token gesture; on the contrary, FIT assuredly will "address the sort of explore the topic again in future symposia.” At 30,000 feet, FIT wants to use these machinations to not only flex their institutional muscle, but to “change the fashion industry,” Richards said. Furthermore, he said he wants his students to learn to “design with empathy and forethought” as they work their way towards contributing towards the betterment of the wider world.

Kabra agreed yet again with her colleague.

“I hope to continue such exhibitions with important themes, but also for myself as an exhibition maker, to broaden the way I think about inclusivity personally,” she said. “[I want to] push myself to hopefully have more accessibility even within our shows.”

Accessibility at FIT, Kabra added, “should become second nature.”

Gallaudet University’s Tabitha Jacques Talks Recent Deaf Way Film Festival, More In interview

In my piece yesterday about last month’s Vimeo Staff Picks celebrating Deaf Awareness Month, I made quick mention of this year’s Deaf Way Film Festival. The event, held earlier this month on the campus of Gallaudet University, is a multi-day celebration of what’s described on the Film Festival’s website as “spotlighting the creativity, power, and stories of deaf filmmakers and professionals in the film industry.”

The Washington DC-based Gallaudet, founded amidst the backdrop of the Civil War, is literally the world’s preeminent institution of higher learning for the Deaf community.

“Join us for an unforgettable celebration of Deaf culture, storytelling, and community,” the school wrote about the Deaf Way Film Festival. “The Deaf Way Film Festival offers more than just films—it’s a vibrant celebration of Deaf culture and history woven throughout the Gallaudet University campus.”

I recently connected with Tabitha Jacques, Gallaudet’s director of arts, culture, and experience, via email for a brief interview in which she discussed the Deaf Way Film Festival and its poignancy to the Deaf community. At a high level, Jacques explained she feels “fortunate” to have the privilege of “[creating] experiences on campus related to deaf arts and culture,” adding her duties entail creating spaces in various locations on campus which “tell Gallaudet stories through art, artifacts, and didactic texts.”

It’s my understanding tickets for Deaf Way sold out quickly, with day passes the only ones available for interested parties. I sadly wasn’t able to attend, but it doesn’t take an astrophysicist to surmise a sell-out is a pretty good barometer of enthusiastic interest.

“I [was] so excited to bring back Deaf Way but in a new format where festivals are smaller and focus on a specific theme,” Jacques said of putting the film festival together this year. “This film festival will have films and panels, but also experiences that bring the community together such as participating in a community chalk mural and visiting art exhibitions on campus. I also look forward to creating a space for deaf people in the film industry to develop connections and to have the space to exchange ideas and to imagine a future where there are no barriers in the film industry.”

Jacques’ excitement was palpable because, as she explained, “deaf representation is getting better” along with the boilerplate caveat that “we still have such a long way to go!” Moreover, she noted she looks forward to the day when deaf representation is accretive; like Aisha Amin told me about her mindset after making Contours, which played at Deaf Way, and how she vows not to do another project without prominently including a Deaf character and ASL, Jacques looks forward to an environment wherein deaf representation merely constitutes “adding deaf people to the diverse cast of characters that make up our world” in addition to non-deaf people feeling increasingly “comfortable” with communicating with their Deaf and hard-of-hearing brethren.

“We are so lucky that we have such a wide range of technology to help us communicate and many ASL classes are being offered,” Jacques said. “We have made so much progress in the last 40 years and we still have so much more progress to work towards.”

She doubled down of her effusive praise for Deaf Way and what it represents writ large.

“It has been a wonderful experience to lead the festival. I have worked with so many wonderful people who are employees of the university and who are outside of the university,” Jacques said of her efforts to build Deaf Way. “Everyone has been incredibly supportive as they all want to see this festival be an amazing experience. I have also learned so much from everyone and from this process. I am grateful to be in this role.”

When asked about the reception to Deaf Way, Jacques told me feedback to it has been “very positive” according to Andrea Passafiume, Gallaudet’s film programmer, as well as the school’s screening committee. The group, Jacques said, was excited for the wider world’s opportunity to “see what films they have worked so hard to curate,” adding “people are excited about coming back to Gallaudet to see artistic creations that my office and the Deaf Way Film Festival team have worked so hard to produce.”

In the end, Gallaudet is the platform atop of which the Deaf Way Film Festival shines.

“Gallaudet University is an amazing place with so much to offer in terms of what the deaf community is able to create and produce,” Jacques said. “My hope is that the world will want to come and visit Gallaudet and experience what we have to offer and keep on coming back.”

Vimeo Marked September’s Deaf Awareness Month with yet more Disability-Centric staff Picks

Back in April, I ran a story in which I covered Vimeo and the New York City-based company’s celebration of National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in March. My reporting featured interviews with Vimeo’s Meghan Oretsky, who leads curation of the company’s Staff Picks program, as well as 5-time Staff Pick honoree Case Jernigan. Jernigan, an indie filmmaker, spoke with me about his latest Staff Pick selection in Noggin, a 7-minute short chronicling his journey as he copes with multiple sclerosis. As I wrote in the spring, Vimeo’s Staff Picks aim to “shine the proverbial spotlight on work from indie artists exactly like Jernigan—to wit, people who hail from marginalized and underrepresented communities whose work is oftentimes overlooked by algorithms designed to cater towards mainstream audiences.” Indeed, Oretsky herself explained, since 2008, Staff Picks has stood as “a collection of the best short films in the world” created by emerging and established, independent filmmakers.

A few months later, Vimeo is back with more Staff Picks, this time for Deaf Awareness Month. September is Deaf Awareness Month, and Vimeo marked the occasion last month by bestowing Staff Picks to two films centering Deaf people: Breaking Silence and Contours. The former, made by Amy Bench, is a documentary delving into the advocacy of incarcerated Deaf people, while the latter is a film, from Aisha Amin, about a Deaf couple working hard to rekindle their relationship. Notably, Contours showed at the Deaf Way Film Festival. The event, held at Gallaudet University in Washington DC earlier this month, is described as “a four-day celebration spotlighting the creativity, power, and stories of deaf* filmmakers and professionals in the film industry.”

In a recent interview via videoconference, Bench explained to me Breaking Silence, of which she’s co-director and co-producer, the origins of the film trace back to 2019 when she pitched an idea for a series to Independent Lens. One of the topics of interest was criminal justice, and being based in Texas, piqued Bench’s curiosity as her state has one of the highest incarceration rates anywhere in the world, let alone the United States. One story Bench pitched was about Leslie Estes, a Deaf woman who had spent a decade in prison in Texas and New Mexico. At the time of Bench’s pitch, Estes had been free for about a month; Bench wanted to meet her and, ultimately, try to tell her story.

“I wanted to show her journey of reentry into society,” Bench said.

Then the pandemic hit. The unknowingness of everything proved to be an elephant-sized wrench for Bench and team in terms of producing Breaking Silence, which ultimately meant interviewing Estes was logistically difficult. The movie took three-and-a-half years to make, finally premiering at the Big Sky Film Festival in 2023. However Deaf-centered the film is as a product, Bench conceded “our initial focus” was actually about incarcerated mothers. According to Bench, her co-director Annie Silverstein worked on a film called Bull in which the main protagonist is a mother in prison; what’s more, Silverstein worked with young people whose parent(s) were incarcerated prior to becoming a filmmaker. Breaking Silence, Bench said, is poignant because it sheds light on “a really compelling issue a lot of people didn’t know about, including ourselves: the lack of access in prisons for people who are Deaf or have a disability.”

“I think what drove us was the realization that a lot of people have never considered Deaf people in prison before, so the fact it still isn’t a topic that is widely known,” she said. “We felt it was an important story to share.”

For Amin, Contours has a similar scope to raising awareness of the Deaf community.

“My writer, Brian Cohen, he was thinking about ways we could showcase new kinds of talent on screen… showcase diversity in a unique way. We just kept talking,” she said to me about making her movie. “Something that was so clear was there was very little Deaf talent on screen that we had both seen, and we knew of some performers who were Deaf that are just fantastic. What better way to showcase a diverse film than telling a film about a marriage, which is such a universal concept. Martial problems, but doing it where we are intentionally casting Deaf actors.”

Amin emphasized the notion she didn’t want to put deafness on display as though it lived “in a museum.” She didn’t want the disability to be tokenized as usual and “shown to the world as a tragedy,” as is commonplace for most stories involving disability.

“I wanted to tell a story about how hard it is to be married and communicating in sign language,” Amin said.

Amin called making Contours a “humbling” experience, telling me she was forced to “check myself” during production because, as a hearing person, she was showing a community she isn’t part of. She leaned on her partners, including the team at RespectAbility, in an effort to maximize authenticity. As she mentioned, the Deaf experience is oft-overlooked by society writ large—and, pertinently here, by Hollywood.

As to Vimeo, both Bench and Amin shared similar sentiments about how the company was great to work with. For Amin, she said Vimeo’s platform is especially valuable to her as a young filmmaker; it’s even more valuable for someone like her to get a coveted Staff Pick. As a three-time winner, Amin feels “very lucky” to have received the recognition, adding Vimeo is so great in large part due to its accessibility. With the internet’s nigh ubiquity, a film like Contours (or Breaking Silence, for that matter) has much greater opportunity to be seen and lauded via streaming—especially given Vimeo’s Staff Picks are intentionally human-curated. For Bench’s part, she described she and her own team being “really delighted” by Vimeo’s enthusiasm and said the platform is “the perfect fit” for Breaking Silence amidst Deaf Awareness Month.

Looking towards the future, both Amin and Bench expressed enthusiasm for, and commitment to, spotlighting the disability community in future projects. Both films have received tremendous feedback from Deaf audiences who’ve said the movies have proven deeply resonant. Bench told me Breaking Silence serves as a microcosm of how disabled people are treated, noting there are “so many topics we need to be talking about.” For Amin, making Contours proved so profound she readily admitted to it “changing” her as a person—so much so, she revealed her next project features a Deaf character who communicates in ASL. Amin is all-in as an ally of the Deaf community.

“I don’t think I’ll ever write another script without featuring Deaf or disabled talent,” she said of her future plans. “If I can do anything to shift a little of that scale in the industry, then I’m going to do it as a director. I’m going to always consider hiring Deaf talent because it’s underrepresented in Hollywood… anything I can do, I’m going to do it.”

Nintendo’s ‘Kirby Air Raiders’ for Switch 2 Gets ‘Rare’ Accessibility Menu, Report Says

Quinton O’Connor at The Gamer reported last week Nintendo has supplied “a plethora of detailed accessibility options” to its Kirby Air Raiders title for the Switch 2. The game was shown during a Nintendo Direct presentation featuring director Masahiro Sakurai.

“Nintendo’s not always on the ball about this [accessibility] stuff, and while many of us won’t tap into these features, some absolutely will—and in certain cases, they simply can’t play the game without them,” O’Connor wrote last Friday. “It’s worth highlighting just how much attention accessibility has gotten during development.”

O’Connor’s story includes a social media post from Steve Saylor, who wrote on Bluesky he was “pretty impressed” by the fact Kirby Air Raiders has its own Accessibility submenu—of which he noted was “rare” for Nintendo to include—and features options such as button remapping, text size adjusting, and more. In addition, Kirby Air Raiders has a “camera shake” toggle under the aforementioned Accessibility menu, which Sakurai encouraged players to “please try out… to find something that works for you.”

As someone who’s decidedly not a hardcore gamer—my favorites are sports titles—I admittedly was a little surprised to learn of Nintendo’s lackluster reputation in the accessibility arena. Back in April, I wrote about being intrigued by the Switch 2; in my piece, I noted Nintendo is involved with the Entertainment Software Association’s (ESA) new Accessible Games Initiative. Moreover, I interviewed ESA senior vice president Aubrey Quinn about the development of the Accessible Games Initiative in April as well.

Apple, NBCUniversal Announce ‘first-of-its-kind’ Apple tV × Peacock Subscription Bundle

Earlier this month, Apple and NBCUniversal put out a press release wherein the two companies announced a new bundle that couples Apple TV with NBC’s Peacock.

The bundle became available this week, on October 20.

“Customers in the U.S. can save over 30 percent by subscribing to the Apple TV and Peacock Premium bundle for $14.99 per month, or Apple TV and Peacock Premium Plus for $19.99 per month, through either app or website,” Apple said of its newfound subscription bundle in the announcement. “Apple One subscribers on the Family and Premier plans can subscribe to Peacock Premium Plus and receive a 35 percent discount—the first benefit of its kind for Apple’s all-in-one subscription bundle.”

As a subscriber of both Apple TV and Peacock—as well as Apple One—I was excited to learn of this news. My affinity for Apple TV is well-documented, but I’m also a fan of Peacock. Indeed, I signed up for this deal via the Peacock app on tvOS and it was great.

I’m planning to start watching The Paper soon, and I’m really excited that the NBA is back on NBC in addition to watching Sunday Night Football every week. From an accessibility perspective, the Apple-NBCUniversal bundle is notable insofar as it lowers barriers to entry for both streaming services. Whatever discretionary income a disabled person has to play with, someone who might be like me and loves both Apple TV and Peacock qualifies for a substantial discount on the monthly cost. What’s more, that the two are bundled together means that a person needn’t worry cognitively about managing bespoke subscriptions. In other words, the salient point is not only are Apple TV and Peacock made more financially feasible, the fact they exist as a bundle makes managing the services more accessible too. These are ostensibly mundane points, but therein lies the rub: the tiniest details can make the biggest difference for someone with disabilities. As I say, accessibility lies everywhere in the lives of disabled people.

News of the tv-Peacock deal comes soon after Apple dropped the “+” from Apple TV.

Apple TV’s ‘CODA’ Gets Blu-ray Release Date

Ryan Christoffel reported for 9to5 Mac earlier this week Apple’s CODA is going from streaming to solid state, as the film soon will be available on Blu-ray and DVD discs.

Pre-orders are happening now ahead of the disc’s release on November 4.

“This [CODA Blu-ray] release seems to be part of a growing trend of streamers being more willing to offer physical movies for purchase,” Christoffel wrote on Wednesday. “Despite previously favoring streaming-only availability, Apple now appears more open to offering Blu-ray versions of its movies.”

As Christoffel notes, CODA has tremendous historical significance as its 2022 Best Picture win—coupled with Troy Kotsur’s Best Supporting Actor victory—are firsts not only for Apple and Apple TV as the first streaming-only film to win Hollywood’s most prestigious award, but also for Kotsur as the first Deaf actor to win an Oscar. As a literal CODA myself, the movie holds a special place in my heart not merely for the subject matter, but for the representational gains it affords CODAs and the Deaf community.

While I, like most people, am a huge proponent of streaming content, I have begun to amass a small collection of my most favorite movies in 4K Blu-ray to go along with my dozens of DVDs from two decades ago. In fact, just yesterday I took delivery of Conclave from Amazon, about a fictitious papal election, and plan to pre-order CODA soon too. (I also have Season 1 of Severance in keeping with the Apple TV theme.) I’m pretty picky about which Blu-rays I’m collecting; space is a precious commodity at my house, so I’m hellbent on getting only the films I cherish most. From a technological perspective, I’m also motivated by the fact, as somewhat of a home theater nerd, the best picture quality comes from physical media versus streaming, and I’d like to take fullest advantage of my spectacular 77” LG C3 OLED in every way possible. I have the critically-acclaimed Panasonic UB820 Blu-ray player hooked up to said TV. For those times when I want to have a movie night with, say, CODA, I can pop the disc into the device and enjoy (again).

I should mention too that there indeed is a pro-accessibility argument for streaming versus Blu-ray. First and foremost, there are the costs associated with getting a good Blu-ray player itself, let alone the discs. More to the point, however, is the physicality to physical media. To wit, pressing a button on one’s Siri Remote may be far more accessible than opening the disc’s case, taking out the disc, and putting it into the player without scratching the disc, etc. For many people with certain motor disabilities, Blu-ray may be a nonstarter for this workflow. It’s a valid reason, and illustrative of the greater societal shift to embrace streaming music and movies for convenience’s sake.

News of CODA on Blu-ray comes not long after it was announced by Apple earlier this month F1: The Movie starts streaming in December. It’s also now available on Blu-ray.

Yours Truly Guests on the ‘Access All’ Podcast

Late last week, I received an email from a producer at BBC News who asked if I’d be interested in coming on the network’s podcast about disability, called Access All, to discuss my experiences using Waymo for my transportive needs in San Francisco. I happily agreed to come on, and we recorded the episode on Monday. To my surprise and delight, it posted earlier today for everyone to listen to in their favorite podcast app.

Besides yours truly, the episode features my friend Amanda Ventura at Waymo, as well as Emma Vogelmann. Vogelmann is co-CEO at UK-based organization Transport for All.

My cameo is timely, as it coincides with Waymo’s announcement it will be bringing its autonomous vehicles across the pond beginning in 2026. In a statement accompanying the news, Waymo’s own co-CEO in Tekedra Mawakana—whom I’ve interviewed in the past—said the company is “thrilled” to soon bring Waymo to Londoners, adding its service is “making roads safer and transportation more accessible where we operate [and] we’ve demonstrated how to responsibly scale fully autonomous ride-hailing, and we can’t wait to expand the benefits of our technology to the United Kingdom.”

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Adds Liquid Glass Appearance Toggle

My friend Stephen Hackett reported earlier this week Apple has, in iOS 26.1 Beta 4, added a new toggle for Liquid Glass which allows users to choose between two looks: Clear and Tinted. As Hackett writes, the former represents Liquid Glass in its default state, whereas the latter increases contrast and opacity levels. The setting is found in Settings > Display and Brightness on iOS, and System Settings > Appearance on macOS.

Hackett notes Apple’s placement of the Liquid Glass control is surprising as he believed “a control like this would land in Accessibility.” However a logical presumption, it’s not really a hardcore accessibility feature. Here’s the thing about accessibility features, on iOS or Android or anywhere else: they’re a discrete, specialized—and admittedly esoteric—suite of settings intended to meet highly specific needs. While it’s true “accessibility is for everyone” for the most part, the majority of the options under Accessibility are decidedly opinionated in their target demographic. Take the AssistiveTouch pointer, for instance. AssistiveTouch is itself a subset of specialized features aimed at aiding those with motor disabilities; as such, the pointer has been expressly designed to serve that greater purpose. This focus is why, as one anecdote, the response to the AssistiveTouch pointer rankled me a few years ago. Apple added it for a reason. Indeed, the company’s senior director of global accessibility policy and initiatives Sarah Herrlinger told me in an interview at the time it “isn’t your traditional pointer,” yet the iPadOS power users were so desperate for proper pointer support, many in the community appropriated the AssistiveTouch pointer and lamented how it doesn’t work like your aforementioned traditional pointer. But it wasn’t conceived to be conventional… my understanding is Apple’s Accessibility group “handed off” the AssistiveTouch functionality to the wider OS team to be further massaged into the mainstream pointer feature that exists today. I got pushback from a lot of people for explaining all of this under the notion AssistiveTouch isn’t perfect and warrants criticism… to which I still say, sure, but it isn’t meant for you and your nerdy whims.

Anyway, the fact the new Liquid Glass in iOS 26.1 Beta 4 is not a true accessibility feature is sensible in the same way the Display Zoom options (also under Display and Brightness) isn’t found in Accessibility. They’re more about personal preference than absolute necessities like, say, the PWM toggle for iPhone 17 models. If desired, it can disable “pulse width modulation,” which Apple says “[provides] a different way to dim the OLED display, which can create a smoother display output at low brightness levels.” It exists to help people who may perceive these changes in brightness, as the detection of flickering can be bothersome to some and can cause pain such as eye strain and headaches. By contrast, the advent of the Liquid Glass toggle really isn’t that serious, as the kids say. It’s more about a preferred aesthetic than it is about actual accessibility.

On that note, I’ve heard many on social media bemoan the arrival of this new setting because it telegraphs the message that Apple is capitulating to the criticism from the summer beta period and effectively abdicating their position on Liquid Glass. But that’s not right—a true abdication would entail scrapping Liquid Glass altogether and bringing back the iOS 18 design language. Adding a setting for choosing between Clear and Tinted is the company merely giving users the power to decide between the “full” Liquid Glass experience and something that’s slightly more “normalized” for lack of a better adjective. And for those who need the utmost contrast and visual fidelity, they can go into Accessibility and flip on Reduce Transparency to extend the Tinted look even further. As I wrote following the WWDC keynote, I sat with Herrlinger for a few minutes after the presentation, and while I didn’t conduct a full, on the record interview, I was able to attribute to her that the Accessibility team worked “closely” with the Design team to make Liquid Glass as visually accessible as possible. Reduce Transparency will always be there if you really and truly require the extra oomph it offers, she said to me.

Apple isn’t retreating from Liquid Glass—on the contrary, they’re refining it.

I’m no longer riding the beta train, but I enjoy Liquid Glass a lot. I anticipate not changing its appearance once iOS 26.1 ships. I like Liquid Glass so much—and use the Medium Display Zoom on my iPhone Air with larger text—that I don’t use Reduce Transparency because my eyes have acclimated to, and can bear, the default. Plus, I think Liquid Glass looks fucking cool as-is, and I want to use it with the creator’s intent.

NBC News Layoffs a sobering reminder people like me Have the Ricketiest Seats at the Media table

Corbin Bolies reported sobering news for The Wrap earlier this week that NBC News has decided to gut its newsroom’s bespoke diversity coverage teams. He writes the move is part of recent layoffs, which sees the Peacock network say goodbye to 150 personnel.

The cuts comprise 7% of a newsroom of “about 2,000 staffers,” according to Bolies.

“The cuts mean that the verticals NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, NBC Latino and NBC OUT will no longer have dedicated teams bolstering their coverage,” Bolies wrote on Wednesday. “The verticals will continue to publish stories related to the specific groups and NBC News may ultimately retain up to five staffers who will contribute coverage on the verticals to the newsroom, according to one source, as the dedicated teams focused exclusively on these verticals are sunset.”

The latest layoffs, which Bolies reported a source said was described by NBC News’ executive vice president of editorial, Catherine Kim, as “a difficult day for a lot of us,” were announced during a brief morning meeting conducted earlier this week.

While Bolies notes NBC News may retain a small number of people to write stories about underrepresented groups, I found the move distressing and unsurprising. If you know me on LinkedIn, you may know I occasionally post these “Hire Steven” missives in which I stand on my proverbial soapbox and tell anyone who’ll listen that I’m open to a staff role someplace. The thrust of my pitch is simple: I like to think I’m a damn good journalist… I know how to write well, and my lived experiences as a lifelong disabled person (coping with multiple conditions at that) gives my work instant credibility. The larger argument, of course, is how, in my 12 years in the tech media racket, earnest disability coverage is woefully inadequate. Too often, accessibility coverage is relegated to weeks and days, and oftentimes what accessibility stories that are published are cobbled together by well-meaning yet able-bodied writers who aren’t intimately familiar with the topic. For my part, I’ve dedicated my career to making marginalized people like me more seen, but my reach goes only so far as an independent journalist. There are definite perks to being indie, but there surely are perks to being part of a newsroom of an established outlet. I’ve been doing this a long time, and walking this beat is a damn lonely road. What’s more, I’d like to make more money and, frankly, explore what other challenges/opportunities may be out there.

I’ve applied to innumerable staff writer jobs over the last few years to no avail. I even had a prominent editor at a very large and well-known newspaper tell me once during an interview disability inclusion in tech is “way too niche” for their readership. I found the comment galling and dispiriting, let alone shortsighted and borderline ableist. Anyway, the salient point of this piece is not to bemoan my own job prospects, but to use my experiences as an illustration that, to a point Bolies made in his story, DEI initiatives are part of the journalism world’s “larger retreat” from such efforts. Again, as a marginalized person owning a marginalized beat, it can be difficult sometimes to keep pushing forward with my work not because I’m disinterested—on the contrary, I love being in journalism—but because (a) it’s becoming evermore abundantly clear people like me live at the margin’s margin; and (b) I increasingly feel like my byline hurdles itself into a black hole, swallowed up by ostensibly more pressing, more “glitzy” stories.

Like I said, it’s fucking lonely job—and a sentiment I’ve espoused before.

So much is made about gender, race, and sexuality. June is Pride Month, and every news station makes hay over it—yet July is Disability Pride Month and there is nary a peep about it. Never mind the intersectionality between, say, gay people and disabled people, but it’s as though society likes to pretend the disabled community doesn’t exist. But we do, and I’m exhausted from always trying to Oliver Twist my way through the industry and essentially justifying my existence to all the editorial powers-that-be.

Apple Unveils First Wave of M5-Powered Products

Apple on Wednesday announced the M5 chip, the company’s latest generation of custom processors. It powers refreshed iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, and Vision Pro devices.

“M5 delivers over 4x the peak GPU compute performance for AI compared to M4,” Apple wrote in extolling the virtues of its next-gen, designed-in-house silicon. “[It features] a next-generation GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core, a more powerful CPU, a faster Neural Engine, and higher unified memory bandwidth.”

Of the new products, the iPad Pro and Vision Pro are, in my opinion, most interesting to ruminate over. They’re certainly noteworthy enough to cover here, even tangentially.

First, the updated iPad Pro. As I wrote last week, I’d been eagerly anticipating today’s news because I’m keen on downsizing to the 11” iPad Pro. As lovely as my 13” M4 model is for its big OLED screen and its conduciveness to iPadOS 26’s revamped multitasking system, the truth is I don’t use the tablet for productivity. Indeed, I mostly use it as a conduit for content consumption whilst lounging on the couch in our living room; for that, the 13” model’s large footprint makes it unwieldy to use as an iPad for reading in Safari or Apple Books or whatnot. Thus, my gut feeling is the 11” iPad Pro would much more realistically represent what I actually use a tablet to do—however well-intended I am, the reality is the 13” model is more aspirational than accurate in terms of how I use the device on a daily basis. Federico Viticci, I decidedly am not—not anymore, anyway.

I believe it’s healthy to reassess the tools I use, lest I fall into complacency and hubris.

Which model do I want? The 11” iPad Pro (in silver) with cellular and 1TB storage.

As to Apple Vision Pro, I personally don’t feel a compulsion for a new one like I do with the iPad. My M2 model still does everything I want it to do—which admittedly isn’t a whole lot—and I’m one of those rare birds who likes the Solo Knit Band that originally shipped with the headset. It’s comfortable and fits me well, but the advent of the new Dual Knit Band (available at $99 for OG Vision Pro users like me) serves as a reminder that, as ever, hardware accessibility matters. To wit, it matters how accessible this new Dual Knit Band is to take on and off, as well as adjust for comfort. After all, Apple’s fancy-pants $3,500 “spatial computer” does no good if you can’t easily get it on your face first. Overall, count me with my good friend John Gruber, who writes today “I find using [Vision Pro] with the Solo Knit Band comfortable for as long as I care to use it.”

Finally, a cursory note on external display support. The M5 chip enables iPad Pro to connect to external monitors at up to 120Hz, which Apple says is “ideal for creative workflows like video editing as well as gaming.” This bit of nerdy arcana appeals to me insofar as I’m also excited for refreshed external displays from Apple. My white whale display is the Pro Display XDR, although intellectually I’m well aware the Studio Display would be sufficient for my desk’s needs. (I like the Mini-LED tech and larger screen of the XDR.) I say this because I’m still using my 6-year-old Retina 4K 21.5” iMac that runs not on Apple silicon, but Intel. macOS Tahoe dropped support for my machine, and due to technological inertia and general life stuff, I have yet to move more deliberately on upgrading my desk setup. I’m lucky that this iMac still runs pretty well given its ancient age, and even luckier my workflow as a journalist involves little more than dealing with plain text files, video calls for interviews, and basic web surfing. While I’m appreciative of lots of horsepower because I’m a nerd, my usage doesn’t exactly scream “bleeding edge” compute power. Markdown files are extremely small and very low maintenance.

I should upgrade my Mac as soon as possible, but I’m doing okay for right now.

As for the M5 iPad Pro? I must get me an 11” version posthaste.

‘F1: The Movie’ Starts Streaming In December

Apple on Monday announced via press release that its summer auto racing blockbuster F1: The Movie will be available to stream beginning Friday, December 12. The film, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Brad Pitt, casts Pitt as the so-called “greatest that never was,” Sonny Hayes, a driver whose career was derailed by an accident at a race, recruited decades later by an ex-teammate to save a flailing F1 team.

“It’s been thrilling to see audiences around the world embrace ‘F1 The Movie’ in theaters,” Bruckheimer said in a statement for the announcement. “Now, we’re beyond excited to bring this exhilarating, cinematic ride to fans everywhere through Apple TV’s unparalleled global reach. Partnering with Apple and Formula 1 has been an incredible journey, and we’re proud that even more viewers, from every corner of the world, will get to experience the heart-pounding action and passion that defines ‘F1 The Movie.’”

Apple posted a trailer to YouTube (embedded below) revealing the streaming date.

Notably, my friend Stephen Hackett linked to a MacRumors story in which writer Eric Slivka picked up on a sly bit of product news: Apple TV+ is apparently now known as Apple TV. Indeed, Apple’s single line of copy in the press release reads in part the change represents a “vibrant new identity” for the streaming service. It should be noted, however, as of this writing, the Apple TV website still uses the old nomenclature. I decided to cover the F1 news partly for the name change, but also because it reminded me of something that’s bothered me about “Apple TV” as a branding for some time now.

To wit, Apple TV can pertain to one of three things: the app, the service, or the box. From a disability perspective, primarily for cognition’s sake, it can be awfully difficult to distinguish the three entities. Apple sells a box called Apple TV 4K which includes both the Apple TV app and, within it, the Apple TV service. That’s confounding for anyone, let alone someone coping with an intellectual disability. When most people think of Apple TV, they think of the service where Severance and Ted Lasso lives—in that sense, I’d guess that’s what drove the name change. Nonetheless, the naming strategy remains messy with the aforementioned box and software. I’ve heard many people say Apple TV is “built in” to, say, Samsung televisions so you needn’t go to an Apple Store and buy one when they’re conflating two different things. They mean Apple TV the service when they allude to the Apple TV box running tvOS. Apple should clean up its mess; the situation gives off strong Spider Man meme vibes. Lest you think I’m making a mountain out of a molehill, my contention is that words matter. Clarity matters. Even if Apple TV the service gets the lion’s share of the cachet in terms of name recognition, it doesn’t mean the others ought to mire amidst a super convoluted game of word association.

See also: back in June, I wrote about the accessibility of the movie’s “haptic trailer.”

F1: The Movie grossed $629 million at the box office worldwide, according to Apple.

Apple Discontinues Clips App

Some weekend news from Eric Slivka at MacRumors: Apple has cut the cord on Clips.

“Apple has essentially discontinued Clips, its video-editing app designed to allow users to combine video clips, images, and photos with voice-based titles, music, filters, and graphics to create enhanced videos that can be shared on social media sites,” Slivka reported on early Saturday morning. “The app has been removed from the App Store, and a support document on Apple’s site says that the app is no longer being updated and would no longer be available for download for new users as of yesterday.”

Clips has been a mainstay of the various iPhones I’ve used since debuting in 2017, although I can’t recall the last time I used the app—or even launched it for something. I remarked recently how Apple has a penchant for letting its App Store apps wither on the proverbial vine—which, as Slivka rightly notes, the company apparently did over the last few years by updating Clips only to address bug fixes and basic maintenance. As a diehard sports fan, my hope is Apple Sports isn’t destined to match Clips’ fate whilst I wait for Apple to someday make an iPadOS version. As I’ve often said in my coverage of Apple Sports, the app is one of my most favorite—and most heavily used—on my phone.

I remember covering Clips at the time of its introduction because, as ever, there were accessibility ties. To wit, Apple was boastful of the fact the app could generate real-time captions for its short-form videos; the captions were useful, of course, to Deaf and hard-of-hearing people so as to make dialogue more accessible and inclusive. Back then, I remember thinking how inspired it was given TikTok and Instagram Reels had yet to pervade the mainstream consciousness. Nowadays, the vast majority of these videos I see all have live captions enabled by default, and it’s heartening to notice the change as a lifelong disabled person who, coincidentally, has a level of congenital hearing loss.

NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers to stream select Games This Season Formatted for Apple vision Pro

My good friend Jake Krol at TechRadar reported earlier this week the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers will be using Apple Vision Pro to stream games in Apple’s Apple Immersive Video format for the mixed-reality headset. The streams will be available in both the NBA and Spectrum SportsNet (the Lakers’ broadcast partner) apps for visionOS early next year.

“It’s not every game, but for those that are streaming—exclusive to the $3,500 Spatial Computer—you’ll get access to views that put you right in the middle of the action,” Krol wrote of the Lakers’ plans for Vision Pro and Apple Immersive Video. “Special cameras that support the format will be set courtside and under each basket to give you perspectives that amp up the immersion. The Lakers’ games will be shot using a special version of Blackmagic Design’s URSA Cine Immersive Live camera.”

Apple and the NBA will announce which games on the schedule will be available in Apple Immersive “later this fall,” specifically sometime next month, according to Krol.

As a diehard sports fan—which includes basketball—I’m extremely excited by this news. For one thing, I do have a Vision Pro I mainly use for entertainment: watching TV shows and movies. For another, Krol’s story strikes me as lending more credence to my notion that Vision Pro can make watching sports more accessible to Blind and low vision people. Granted, this isn’t the same as sitting inside Crypto.com Arena, but by virtue of Apple Immersive, it’s damn near close. Watching live sporting events as someone with a visual disability can suck depending on one’s needs and tolerances, which is why using Apple Immersive to shoot games is so tantalizing. The whole point of Apple Immersive is to make viewers feel like they’re right there even if they’re really not; to use the format to stream sports can elicit those same feelings of… immersion. In an accessibility context, someone like me could feel like I could enjoy the action a lot more.

As Krol notes, Apple has taken a liking to using its products for capturing live sports for streaming. Jason Snell at Six Colors recently reported on iPhone 17 Pro being used to film a recent Tigers-Red Sox game from Boston’s Fenway Park for Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+. Similarly, I wrote in April about the NBA’s Sacramento Kings using a tactile display to make games accessible to Blind and low vision fans visiting Golden1 Center.

Slide Over’s Return Receives A Hero’s Welcome

Jason Snell at Six Colors wrote this week about a big addition coming to iPadOS 26.1, now in beta: Slide Over. Indeed, one of the tentpole features of the OG multitasking system introduced in iOS 9, Slide Over is soon returning to iPadOS. The functionality was removed in iPadOS 26.0, a decision longtime iPad-loving friends of mine such as Harry McCracken at Fast Company lamented. Maybe it’d return someday, he wished.

Return it shall, according to Snell.

“In iPadOS 26.1 beta 2, Slide Over is now an explicit part of the new multi-window multitasking view,” he reported on Monday. “To enable it, open a window and resize it so that the three ‘stoplight’ buttons appear, tap and hold on the green one, and choose Add to Slide Over. Or choose Move to Left (or Right) Slide Over from the Window menu. Or type option-globe, left or right. All of those will work.”

He continued: “When Slide Over is invoked, the current window will be resized and stuck in the corner. You can grab the top of it and slide it off-screen, and it’ll vanish—only to reappear when you swipe your finger from off the side of the screen back on. You can stick the window on either side, and it’ll hang out there, regardless of whether you’re using full-screen windows or have a bunch of windows. You can even resize the Slide Over window when it’s on screen, and it’ll stay that size—unlike the old implementation.”

Notably, Snell writes Slide Over works only in multi-window mode. Nonetheless, he’s absolutely right when he adds it’s possible to use fullscreen apps in the new windowed mode. “Nobody’s going to force you to make those windows smaller,” Snell said.

Reading Snell’s story got me pondering my own iPad usage. Just over a year ago, I was gifted a 13” M4 iPad Pro (with 1TB storage and cellular) for my birthday. Apropos of the new multitasking capabilities in iPadOS 26, the biggie iPad is ideally suited as a laptop replacement for travel. I’m no longer as bullish on iPadOS-as-productivity as I once was, mainly because I’ve come to prefer macOS for work nowadays. To be clear, this is not so much a philosophical difference—indeed, iPadOS 26 is terrific if grossly overdue and I maintain the iPad is the most accessible computer Apple’s ever created—as it is my personal preference changing over time. Thus, the iPad has been relegated to content consumption duty on the couch. Like my iPhone Pro Max fatigue, the 13” iPad Pro, however thin and light and sporting a gorgeous OLED screen—I’ve discovered the biggie tablet is considerably not conducive to lounging. With the exception of watching movies and TV shows, the 13” model is awkward to hold for extended periods—a sentiment beautifully illustrated when rotating from portrait to landscape orientation.

Given this shift in mentality, I’m excited to hear the M5-powered iPad Pros are purportedly on the way. Presuming the rumors become reality, I’d love to downsize to the 11” iPad Pro so as to better suit my tablet usage. While I’m not ashamed to admit my lack of iPad productivity (I do have the Magic Keyboard as well) is partially due to coping with perpetually living in the throes of severe anxiety and depression—i.e., I don’t touch grass as often as I should—I nonetheless have noticed my penchant for using the iPad as a passive device for relaxation, particularly at nighttime. The truth of the matter is, for this case, the 13” Pro is annoyingly unwieldy all things considered. The 11” iPad Pro gets all the goodness of iPadOS 26—the reimagined multitasking system and everything else—including the much-ballyhooed return of the dearly beloved Slide Over feature.

See also: Don’t miss Federico Viticci’s take for MacStories on Slide Over’s resurrection.