Over the past several years, Microsoft has been gaining ground in the battle for most accessible computing systems. During that time, Windows has made vast improvements in its out-of-box accessibility. And now with a new Windows OS on the horizon, it’s evident that Microsoft has embraced the concepts of universal design and accessibility in a big way.

Windows 11 seeks to pack in even more accessibility features than the already impressive Windows 10. In today’s e-bulletin, we’re going to dive into those features a bit, but keep in mind, some of the features that we’re looking at today might change or be updated as OS continues to evolve.

It’s important to note that Windows 11 offers all the same accessibility features that were present in Windows 10 including Narrator, Magnifier, Closed Captions, Speech Recognition, etc. In fact, the OS was also extensively tested for accessibility compliance from the ground up.

Sound schemes have been added, so individuals who are blind or low vision can take advantage of audio clues. These sounds also vary based on the display theme that the user chooses, i.e. accessible light and dark themes will feature different sounds than colour themes.

Closed captioning features have also been improved with redesigned closed captioning themes that are easier to read and customize.

Windows 11 accessibility features have also been made easier to use, with the “Ease of Access” settings being rebranded as “Accessibility.” The setting features a new icon and is designed to be easier to find and use.

Microsoft has also done a great deal of work in improving the Narrator feature, which can now be used in conjunction with cloud-based applications and services. The feature was also re-designed to work better in conjunction with other Microsoft apps, making Narrator more clear, more precise, and overall, easier to use.

Learn more about Windows 11, including more information about accessibility and pricing.

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This post originally appeared on the AT Help Desk website.

Tags: assistive technology, AT HelpDesk, Atlantic Regional Office