Tim Cook talks assistive technologies with Accessibility evangelists

Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with three YouTubers who are Accessibility evangelists to discuss the importance of the assistive technologies built into the company’s iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS platforms.

James Rath, a legally blind filmmaker; Tatiana Lee, a model, actress and lifestyle blogger; and Rikki Poynter, a North Carolina-based writer and deaf awareness activist, all published their video interviews with Apple’s chief on their respective YouTube channels on Wednesday.

James Rath interview

Rikki Poynter interview

Cook explained to Poyter what Apple is all about when it comes to Accessibility:

Apple is founded on giving people power to create things, to do things that they couldn’t do without those tools. And we’ve always viewed accessibility as a human right. And so just like human rights are for everyone, we want our products to be accessible for everyone.

He added that accessibility should be a basic human right:

It’s a basic core value of Apple. We don’t make products for a particular group of people. We make products for everybody.

We feel very strongly that everyone deserves an equal opportunity and equal access. So we don’t look at this thing from a return on investment point of view—I’ve been asked that before. The answer is no, I’ve never looked at that. We don’t care about that.

A lot of these Accessibility features, everyone can use. With HomeKit, I use HomeKit every day and control my house with my voice.

“It’s a basic core value of Apple,” said Cook.

Tatiana Lee interview

Lee’s whole video was shot with her iPhone 7 and edited using Apple’s new app Clips.

Cook did the interviews to honor Global Accessibility Awareness Day, an initiative that promotes inclusion when it comes to creating products, content and experiences for everyone.

The company is currently highlighting apps on App Store that implement Accessibility features.

Lastly, Apple posted seven inspiring videos showcasing how people with disabilities are using assistive technologies built into iPhone, iPad and Mac. For the full overview of the extensive assistive features built into Apple products, check out its dedicated Accessibility webpage.