Accessible technology is a fundamental building block that can unlock opportunities in every part of society. This makes it important to tackle the “disability divide” — to contribute to more education and employment opportunities for people with disabilities across the world.
Beyond enabling over a billion people to create, connect, learn, and achieve, accessibility features on Windows 11 make these experiences efficient, fun, and delightful for users across the disability spectrum.
Here are four features that make Windows 11 the most accessible Operating System of all time:
Narrator
Narrator is a screen-reading app that’s built into Windows 11, so there’s nothing users need to download or install. With more natural voices, Narrator users can enjoy scenarios like browsing the web, reading, authoring mail, and more.
Live captions
Live captions help everyone, including people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, better understand audio by providing automatic transcription. Live captions integrate with the Windows desktop, so one can read captions while working in other apps. Captions can be provided for audio even when disconnected from the internet. Users can personalize how captions are displayed and can include microphone audio to make in-person conversations easier.
To turn on live captions, do one of the following:
- Turn on the Live captions toggle in the quick settings Accessibility flyout. (To open quick settings, select the battery, network, or volume icon on the taskbar.)
- Press Windows logo key + Ctrl + L.
- Select Start > All apps > Accessibility > Live captions.
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Captions and turn on the Live captions toggle.
Voice Access
Voice access in Windows 11 enables everyone, including people with mobility disabilities, to control their PC and author text using their voice. For example, users can open and switch between apps, browse the web, and read and author emails using their voice. Voice access uses modern, on-device speech recognition to accurately recognize speech and works without an internet connection.
Eye control
One of the more advanced accessibility features is eye control. Windows 11 has built-in support for devices that let users control their computer with eye movements, such as the Tobii Eye Tracker 5. The feature includes calibration and a launchpad of eye targets for use with the device, for actions like left click, scroll, Start menu, and Settings. Users can rest, or in the proper terminology dwell their eye on one of the launchpad buttons to activate it. They can then place the mouse at a specific point on the screen by dwelling on the Precise mouse button and then on the place on-screen where they want to place the mouse.
