The Relay - A story for us all

Stories are powerful. They can inspire, shape and drive change. None more so than a new film from Apple about accessibility and inclusion. It highlights the story of eight incredible athletes, with and without disabilities. It is called “The Relay.” This film is the latest in a series of Apple’s accessibility-focused short films, such as “The Greatest” and “The Lost Voice." All of these films share powerful stories of  dynamic, creative individuals who daily use Apple’s world class  accessibility features that are built into Apple products. Like Apple’s previous short films, this one is brilliant, the story behind it even more so.

A little about the film

“The Relay” features  athletes with and without disabilities, competing together, side-by-side. Whilst competition with non-disabled athletes is normal for many athletes with disabilities,  it’s not something that’s often represented on screen. The athletes who are participate in  “The Relay” are all highly competitive athletes from around the world, some of whom are contenders to compete on a global stage in Los Angeles in 2028.

The athletes in the film use a combination of Apple products, accessibility features and third-party applications to train, compete and move through activities of daily living. The adaptive athletes in the film use accessibility features to operate their devices, which include:

• Spoken Content on iPhone, which reads text out loud for blind and low vision users. (Reading Sleep metrics and other text.
• AssistiveTouch on Apple Watch, which helps users with an upper body limb difference use Apple Watch without touching the screen. (Silencing Alarm, navigating apps, making selections)
• Magnifier + Point and Speak on iPhone, which enables blind and low vision users to point at text on nearby physical objects and have it read out loud. (Identifying swim lane,)
• Wheelchair Workouts for Workout app on Apple Watch, which has two unique options for wheelchair users to track their workouts: Outdoor Wheelchair Walk Pace and Outdoor Wheelchair Run Pace.

The athletes also use third-party apps. Apps featured in the film include the GoSwim app which helps swimmers analyse their technique on iPad, MATLAB on Mac which visualises aerodynamic data, and the my i-limb app for iPhone from Össur which provides users the flexibility to control the grip of their bionic prosthetics.

More from behind the scenes

As both a person with a disability, disability advocate and accessibility professional it is the story behind the film that is richer and which I encourage all employers to lean into and learn from.

Accessibility is one of Apple’s core values. It is not just word on business vision, statement. It has been part of Apple’s DNA for almost 40 years. How Apple lives that value is authentic and has a genuine impact upon peoples lives.  Apple teams are guided by the disability community mantra of “nothing about us, without us,” ensuring deep collaboration with disability communities inside and outside Apple. Accessibility features are available right out of the box across Apple products, in order to meet users where they are, not the other way around. Accessibility being part of Apple’s DNA, means that there is an ongoing to commitment to accessibility which sees new features that create intuitive experiences for users with a disability. Some of the new accessibility features in the new operating systems that I am most looking forward to include:

• Vocal Shortcuts and Listen for Atypical Speech, both of which enhance speech recognition and customisation for a wider range of users with atypical speech.
• And Eye Tracking, a new way for users with physical disabilities to use iPhone and iPad with just their eyes.
• Voice Control and Sound Recognition in to CarPlay, and more

Finally, accessibility extends beyond the Apple's products. Apple’s has a rich history of engagement and collaboration with disability and athletic communities. The Challenged Athletes Foundation, which champions adaptive sports for youth and adult athletes is just one such example.