Eye Openers: How APPLE's iOS 18 Unlocks a New World with Eye Tracking Technology

And among the exciting new technologies which are changing the horizons of interaction with the digital world, it’s encouraging to see APPLE taking a lead with a solid commitment to more inclusive and adaptive user experiences. That’s why the forthcoming iOS 18 update is such a game-changer. With exciting new eye-tracking capabilities set to challenge the way we use APPLE products, this article will take you through everything you need to know about this feature, so you can hit the ground running with ease.

Revolutionizing Accessibility: The Dawn of iOS 18 Eye Tracking

A Glimpse into the Future with APPLE

It’s not such an absurd idea: imagine being able to use your iPhone or iPad without ever touching the screen. To do so, a developer running the iOS 18 developer beta could be forgiven for thinking all they had to do was glance at a notification and tap it (without actually tapping). Yet this wasn’t just a figment of the imagination. For some time, APPLE has been teasing us with increasingly sophisticated accessibility features that have seemed to take it ever closer to the real-looking virtual world of the APPLE Vision Pro. As we prepare for this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024, it seems that APPLE is keen to introduce an even greater level of human-computer interaction – and make it accessible for everyone.

iOS 18 Eye Tracking: How It Unfolds

If you want to try this feature now, the iOS 18 developer beta is the way to go, although you should be warned that entering a developer beta is not for the faint-hearted. Since these early versions of iOS contain the latest features before anyone else, they aren’t without bugs and are therefore unstable versions of iOS. If you still want to brave the developer beta, be sure to take a backup of your iPhone (just like iOS 15) to ensure loss of data doesn’t occur.

Unleashing the Magic: Activating Eye Tracking

To immerse yourself in this next-generation feature, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Navigate to Accessibility, then tap on Eye Tracking.
3. Toggle the feature on, illuminating the slider in green.
4. Engage with the on-screen instructions, following a dot with your eyes.
5. When it works, you’ll receive a white checkmark, and your device will now be eye-control equipped.

This intuitive configuration thus paves the way for fully hands-free experience with both iPhone and iPad – thanks to iOS 18 (and its counterpart on iPadOS 18).

Navigating New Horizons: The Era of APPLE's Eye Control

As the digital landscapes evolve, so does the way we interact with our devices. The fact that APPLE was one of the first companies to develop such a feature suggests that this is a step towards technology that caters to more people, and we could soon see accessibility as a fundamental feature, which needs to work in order for the device that we use to be more comfortable. Beyond the novelty, this feature could become a powerful instrument for people who have physical limitations in the way they use technology, helping them feel more independent and engaged with their favourite devices.

Embracing the Beta: A Word of Caution

The Adventure and Its Risks

The adventure of running an iOS developer beta is a tempting journey filled with promise. Sure, the developer tools for iOS allow you to get an early look at future technologies – but at your own risk. You’re probably going to have an array of bugs and small glitches on your device taking you on the adventure. If you can, you should probably adventure on a secondary device.

Anticipating the Official Launch: What's Next?

APPLE should launch the official iOS 18 in the second half of this year, along with the iPhone 16 series. What makes it even more exciting is that this grand event coincides with the official release of the new system and the launch of the new models.

The APPLE Ecosystem: Beyond Just Devices

This is why APPLE keeps raising its game, not just by releasing new products, but by building an ecosystem of solutions intended to anticipate and meet the needs of its evolving user base. With each update, APPLE reinforces its claim to a growing share of the technological future for humanity. The next wave of tech innovation need not be about inventing whiz-bang new gadgets. It could be about imagining new ways to make our tech more deeply human.

About APPLE: The Trailblazer in Tech

Bob Dylan once sang of ‘big-shot figures’ in jeans who ‘talked a lot of tough about lovin’ me’, but the reality of those fallen angels stuck with me. They had no direction and possibly not even a place to stay. APPLE Inc. is a Silicon Valley icon. In 1976, in the garage of Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne set out to change the world. From garagiste start-up to global giant, over the years the company has produced a dizzying array of goods – iMacs, iPods, iPads, iPhones, iWatch and on and on, all bound together by the power of APPLE’s tightly controlled ecosystem, which grants access to applications across smartphones, smartwatches, tablets and PCs, computers, and more. Yet, as APPLE’s sublimely produced multi-screen advertisements proclaim, this is not something where the only worth is in the gear: ‘If it isn’t an extraordinary tool that makes our life better, it doesn’t belong in our store,’ ‘innovation’, ‘craftsmanship’, and, above all else – as Jobs so eloquently put it – ‘beauty’. Design, usability and accessibility: a principle burnished with all the luster of a gleaming bannered Babel. APPLE products are beautiful but you should still be able to use them. Technologies have not only made things better. they have also made them more democratic; available to everyone APPLE products are about music and iTunes, productivity and ambience, drawing nearer and sharing – yet once, long ago, APPLE was about something else. I was told that the man I had met was a big shot back in the day; a hard-charging executive working for the leading technological philosopher in these parts. He often worked late, leaving his wife and young children behind. We all know the exploitative tales – this going on until the company’s collapse and his subsequent divorce – a heart that was really only in it for the AWARDS that men could do.