Apple Brings Eye-Tracking To Recent iPhones and iPads (engadget.com) 37
This week, in celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple is introducing several new accessibility features. Noteworthy additions include eye-tracking support for recent iPhone and iPad models, customizable vocal shortcuts, music haptics, and vehicle motion cues. Engadget reports: The most intriguing feature of the set is the ability to use the front-facing camera on iPhones or iPads (at least those with the A12 chip or later) to navigate the software without additional hardware or accessories. With this enabled, people can look at their screen to move through elements like apps and menus, then linger on an item to select it. That pause to select is something Apple calls Dwell Control, which has already been available elsewhere in the company's ecosystem like in Mac's accessibility settings. The setup and calibration process should only take a few seconds, and on-device AI is at work to understand your gaze. It'll also work with third-party apps from launch, since it's a layer in the OS like Assistive Touch. Since Apple already supported eye-tracking in iOS and iPadOS with eye-detection devices connected, the news today is the ability to do so without extra hardware. [...]
There are plenty more features coming to the company's suite of products, including Live Captions in VisionOS, a new Reader mode in Magnifier, support for multi-line braille and a virtual trackpad for those who use Assistive Touch. It's not yet clear when all of these announced updates will roll out, though Apple has historically made these features available in upcoming versions of iOS. With its developer conference WWDC just a few weeks away, it's likely many of today's tools get officially released with the next iOS. Apple detailed all the new features in a press release.
There are plenty more features coming to the company's suite of products, including Live Captions in VisionOS, a new Reader mode in Magnifier, support for multi-line braille and a virtual trackpad for those who use Assistive Touch. It's not yet clear when all of these announced updates will roll out, though Apple has historically made these features available in upcoming versions of iOS. With its developer conference WWDC just a few weeks away, it's likely many of today's tools get officially released with the next iOS. Apple detailed all the new features in a press release.
Advertisers will be delighted... (Score:5, Insightful)
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This was exactly my first thought as well.
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Oh yeah... If there's one thing you can be 100% certain of regardless of make and model of any product - not just cellphones - it's that new features have nothing to do with bringing value to you and everything to do with putting you under closer surveillance and monetizing the surveillance data.
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Just wait until Google 'invents' that.
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Where does it talk about capturing eyeball data to give to advertisers?
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Where does it talk about capturing eyeball data to give to advertisers?
It is already implied that any and all data Google could get their hands on is already in their servers, and is already being used for ads.
That's their business model in case you have missed the last 20 years.
Re: Advertisers will be delighted... (Score:2)
Thanks for saying out loud what I was alluding to.
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They don't have to talk about it, it's obvious. Advertisers will pay dearly to know what ads really attract your attention.
Time to put electrical tape over the camera if you haven't already.
Given the other Apple News today was that pictures supposedly deleted long ago were not deleted from iCloud, physically deleting cameras from Apple products starts looking attractive.
Re: Advertisers will be delighted... (Score:2)
Psst, don't act like Google doesn't exist!
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Not really Google. Tobii has been doing eye gaze and tracking since 2001. Granted with either separate device or built into a unit. A close relative has been using their devices for many years
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Just wait until Google 'invents' that.
Google have been using eye tracking as part of their advert design for years. They've done multiple studies on eye tracking and use this data to help advertisers push their ads.
If you're going to the term "invent" facetiously, make sure it doesn't sound like a stupid incremental design change, kind of like how I "invented" this post by stringing together words from a dictionary.
so add eyes to the list (Score:1)
Are eye movements PII? (Score:2)
Is tracking of body movements considered PII?
Could you accurately estimate a person's gender by elbow bend motion and arm length by how they carry the phone and raise it to their ear?
Can you add in their gait based on the gyroscope in the phone, they already to tracking of footsteps.
Add in respiration, heart rate, and other data and can the device accurately determine the person's gender, age, height, weight, vocal patterns, age, home address, estimated income, sleeping duration, ....
EU must sue!! (Score:2)
File the lawsuit now. Come up with reasons later.
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File the lawsuit now. Come up with reasons later.
It has, unfortunately, been working so far. . .
I know everyone is going to go "ohhh advertisers" (Score:4, Informative)
If Apple was ever to extend the API to regular apps (and not just for interface control) it would be an API that requires user authorisation to be used, and likely a justification when submitting to the app store.
Apple already does so much to crack down on user tracking via app restrictions (user has to give permission for geo-location, camera access, contacts access, photos access, etc per app). They're not in the business of letting 3rd parties spy on you.
I'm not saying they're benevolant either, but that it's specifically not their business model.
Re:I know everyone is going to go "ohhh advertiser (Score:4, Informative)
If Apple was ever to extend the API to regular apps (and not just for interface control) it would be an API that requires user authorisation to be used, and likely a justification when submitting to the app store.
Apple already does so much to crack down on user tracking via app restrictions (user has to give permission for geo-location, camera access, contacts access, photos access, etc per app). They're not in the business of letting 3rd parties spy on you.
I'm not saying they're benevolant either, but that it's specifically not their business model.
Also, "Calling Home".
I bought a microscope-camera, which used an App to communicate with my iPhone. Every time I launch the App (or plug in the Microscope Cable), it announces that it is trying to Communicate with its Mothership. I click "Ignore", and it blocks the attempt, and the App (which doesn't need "Server Support" for anything), Continues Launching. I would personally like an "Always Ignore"; but this works, too. And it's nice to see iOS has a "Little Snitch"-like Outgoing Firewall built-in.
no different on Android (Score:2)
The concept of grab everything you can is an industry standard. Sammy's doing, Google's doing it. There's no reason to believe it won't be on Android as soon as it
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I degoogled some samsung tablets, and I found samsung data grabbing everywhere, and the names of the apps were very nonchalant, obsequious, or just misleading... fairly hard to know what's essential vs what's just siphoning off data.. there were some apps that had no user interface.. you didn't know they even exist. So that's definitely overreach.
The concept of grab everything you can is an industry standard. Sammy's doing, Google's doing it. There's no reason to believe it won't be on Android as soon as it makes money for Apple.
But you didn't mention if Apple was "Data Gathering everywhere", like Samsung.
That's because it wasn't.
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In case you didn't know what this thread was about, it was about Apple tracking your face, eyes, and where you're looking. That qualifies as intrusive data gathering.
Enjoy your ignorance.
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I didn't have to say it. You give your self willingly to the comforting bosom of Apple. ...in celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day... You can't make this stuff up....<chuckle>
In case you didn't know what this thread was about, it was about Apple tracking your face, eyes, and where you're looking. That qualifies as intrusive data gathering.
Enjoy your ignorance.
Without downplaying the importance of minimizing or eliminating Data Tracking in all its insidious forms:
It's only Data Gathering if it Leaves Your Device in Non-Anonymized Form, and is Retained by the Mfg. or Transmitted to Third Parties.
I don't think this qualfies.
Enjoy your Hyperbole.
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Look it up. Law enforcement has API access to your
Not hyperbole at all. You didn't know. So that's not an insult to say your ignorant.
Speaking of hyperbole, look at Google saying they will listen to your phone calls... for your own good..
now this Apple tracking your gaze. It's beyond intrusive.... and really an insult directly your face if you believe that gaze tracking is "in celebration of Global Accessib
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Never heard of PRISM? Yes, it qualifies. It's the gold standard of intrusive. .. everything in iCloud.
Look it up. Law enforcement has API access to your
Not hyperbole at all. You didn't know. So that's not an insult to say your ignorant.
Speaking of hyperbole, look at Google saying they will listen to your phone calls... for your own good..
now this Apple tracking your gaze. It's beyond intrusive.... and really an insult directly your face if you believe that gaze tracking is "in celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day". Jesus Christ, you really REALLY can't make this up. Complete bullshit.
Don't feel bad if you use Apple.. it's not different or worse than Google, Samsung, Amazon, Microsoft.. and a cast of thousands. Quite literally everyone of your service providers, Verizon, ATT, I don't know which country you're in... your telco in that country... ALL GATHER EVERYTHING they can touch. It's written into their terms of service. Read them. I have. There are alternatives, but they unfortunately are only within the grasp of tech savvy people.
Yes I've heard of PRISM, and Echelon before it.
But the only "proof" of Apple's particiation in PRISM is what looks like an undated PowerPoint Slide with "Apple" scribbled on it in Sharpie(?). Hardly ironclad proof; or even within a Parsec of it. . .
As far as tech literate; before retiring about 2 years ago, I was a Professional Embedded Developer for a little over 40 years.
Back to you, Hater!
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So you heard of PRISM, but apparently you don't want to believe what it means. It means legal API access to all your data on Apple and all the oth
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So I'm a hater now for pointing out what is objectively obvious in 2024? Ok, Fine, Mr. Professional Embedded Developer for a little over 40 years, get your head out of Apple's ass and setup a private VPN on a $5/month VPS. Use open source software everywhere and use encrypted DNS lookups on all your devices. Use Graphene OS. Don't say I never gave you a good tip.
So you heard of PRISM, but apparently you don't want to believe what it means. It means legal API access to all your data on Apple and all the other companies that are required to participate. Lookup Bruce Schneier and read a bit. Snowden might trigger you, but he has some good points. People want what they want. You want Apple. But you shouldn't go around believing that Apple is somehow "protecting you" .... ha aha ha ... yeah, that's actually sadly funny....
I have chatted with Mr. Schneier a few times here on Slashdot. You do remember, he was the guy that placed a stock-standard, non-hardened Mac mini (IIRC, this was around the time of OS X 10.4, Tiger) on Dartmouth University's(?) Network, and offered like a million dollars to anyone who could break into it. Dartmouth made him pull it down about 24 hours later, because the sheer network traffic from the Hackers trying (unsuccessfully) to break into Bruce's mini nearly brought down Dartmouth's Network.
And Snow
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Actually, the guy to lookup should be Ron Deibert of UofT Citizen Lab. He has lots of published and verified material explaining how companies do the data collection and law enforcement accesses it. The ship has sailed on whatever Apple used to be, should they have been private and secure at one time. Anyways, relax, and have a look. There is a lot of bad news there, but ... it's reality.
So, you either become Amish (not a value judgment on them), or you just live your life; knowing that, the more random data they suck up, the lower the signal-to-noise ratio. And with a Dataset the size we're talking about, the Trigger Thresholds for what actually rises to the point where human eyes and human decisions are brought to bear on any random, not-already-identified individual, gets higher and higher every one of those femtoseconds.
So, just like letting Trump and his Sycophants rant is one of the b
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You're working under 20th century assumptions. Security by anonymity died years ago. Also, you're pushing the "I have nothing to hide" argument, which Ben Franklin had something to say about.
What this anonymous coward says, from another thread around here:
https://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=23327037&cid=64482485
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Apple (Score:1)
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Apple's latest innovation integrating eye-tracking technology into iPhones and iPads marks a significant leap in accessibility and user experience. By leveraging this technology, users can navigate their devices with unparalleled precision and efficiency, opening doors to a more intuitive interaction with their gadgets. This advancement not only enhances the functionality of Apple's products but also underscores the company's commitment to inclusive design. With eye-tracking capabilities, individuals with motor impairments or disabilities can now enjoy a more seamless digital experience. Furthermore, this development paves the way for groundbreaking applications in various fields, from gaming to healthcare. As technology continues to evolve, Apple's integration of eye-tracking showcases its dedication to pushing boundaries and revolutionizing the way we interact with our devices. For those interested in exploring the potential research avenues of this innovation, platforms like https://writepaper.com/researc... [writepaper.com] offer tailored assistance in crafting comprehensive proposals to delve deeper into this exciting field.
Finally, an Erudite Post on the Subject, and it gets Downmodded!
Haters.
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my over literalism makes it so I can't tell if you are joking or not heh
Not Joking.
No more awareness days! (Score:2)
The original iSight had a physical aperture cover (Score:1)
Apple - Stores your data in perpetuity (Score:1)