Apple unveiled iOS 14 at its annual WWDC keynote yesterday, and among the small but important new features is sound recognition. First spotted by a Reddit user, this new accessibility tool could significantly benefit people who are hard of hearing or deaf. The iPhone can be set to constantly listen for 14 different sounds, including a door knock, doorbell, sirens, smoke detector alarm, dog barking, a crying baby, and more. The feature can be found in the accessibility section of iOS 14’s settings menu.
Other tech companies, including Amazon and Google, have used AI-based sound recognition as a personal safety measure. You can set Echo speakers to detect the sound of alarms or broken glass as part of Amazon’s Alexa Guard home security system, and Google uses the microphone on Pixel phones as part of its car crash-detection feature.
Source: theverge.com