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Meta visited me to test the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses and Neural Band
Meta brought the future to my doorstep Two weeks ago, something quite extraordinary happened. Meta Reality Labs visited my London home to let me try the new Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses — the first model with a built-in display — bundled with the Meta Neural Band wristband. Officially released in the US on 30 September 2025, and priced from $799, the devices aren’t yet available in the UK— so having them brought directly to me felt both a privilege and an honour. I live with a muscle-wasting condition called muscular dystrophy, which means I have very limited movement in my fingers, wrists, and arms. Everyday interactions most people take for granted — like pressing a button or tapping a touchscreen — can be physically impossible for me. That’s why innovations like the Neural Band are so f...
Apple’s Voice Control has stalled — but AI dictation is racing ahead
Last month I reported on a series of serious Voice Control bugs in macOS 26 that Apple quietly acknowledged but has yet to fix. You can read that piece here. The story struck a nerve because these weren’t minor quirks — they broke the core promise of Voice Control for people who depend on it to use their Macs hands-free. Frankly, it’s astonishing that Apple allowed these bugs to ship. The glitches are more than technical oversights; they’re symptomatic of something deeper — a feature that has stalled. Voice Control feels like it’s been left to drift, surviving largely for the small group of disabled people who rely on it, but getting little of the attention that once made Apple a leader in voice accessibility. Yet while Apple’s own tools languish, artificial intelligence is quietly reinven...
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses gen 2 review: power, promise, and what’s next
The battery, for real this time Let me start with what works: battery life. The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses Gen 2 claims up to 2× the battery life over Gen 1. In my use — a few photos, a video, message readouts, a couple of calls — I got through most of the day without panic about dying power. For someone with a disability who depends on the glasses to stay connected, that’s a game-changer: on Gen 1, if the battery died mid-day and I couldn’t swap or charge the glasses myself, all communication would fall silent. Now, that risk is much lower. Video capture has also been boosted: the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses Gen 2 supports 3K Ultra HD video capture (though photos remain largely unchanged). That’s a meaningful step forward for content capture use cases, whether for vlogging, POV clips, or s...
iPhone Air review: why Apple’s lightest phone might be the perfect ‘bed phone’
When Wall Street Journal tech columnist Joanna Stern remarked on Threads that the iPhone Air might be the perfect “bed phone,” it wasn’t just a throwaway comment. It captured something millions of us do every day — using our phones in bed. Whether it’s late-night doomscrolling, a quick YouTube binge, or simply setting an alarm, phones have become bedtime companions. The iPhone Air itself is Apple’s brand-new addition to the lineup — a model that’s significantly lighter and thinner than any iPhone the company has ever made, yet still carries over many of the Pro-level features. It represents Apple’s boldest attempt yet to rethink what an iPhone can feel like in the hand. For me, with severe muscle weakness, Stern’s phrase resonated even more. Because of the fatiguing effects of my muscle-wa...
Apple confirms Voice Control bugs in macOS 26
Apple has acknowledged a series of bugs affecting Voice Control in macOS 26, the company’s built-in accessibility feature that allows people to fully operate a Mac by voice. Over the past week, users have reported that several key commands are not working as expected, with some issues seriously impacting productivity. After a detailed bug report was submitted, Apple’s accessibility team confirmed it is aware of the problems and has passed them on to engineering for investigation. The bugs The issues confirmed by Apple include: • “Delete that” command malfunctioning — instead of deleting the last dictated phrase, the command only removes the final character. • Invisible cursor in Mail — while dictating, the text caret disappears halfway through a line, making it impossible to see where edit...
Why Meta’s Ray-Ban Display glasses feel like the next step for accessibility
This line from Meta’s announcement of the new Ray-Ban Display glasses with Neural Band really struck me. “Think of the potential impact it could have for people with spinal cord injuries, limb differences, tremors, or other neuromotor conditions.” I haven’t tried them yet — they don’t launch until 30 September, and only in the US and select stores at first — but as someone with very limited upper limb mobility, I can already see why this feels different. Beyond another wearable The first generation of Ray-Ban Metas already brought me into the fold. For the first time, I could wear glasses that looked like glasses, but also gave me voice control, hands-free photo and video capture, calls, messaging, and AI assistance. That was a step towards independence. But wrist wearables from Apple, Goo...
Aqua Voice delivers what Apple’s dictation still lacks
Dictation on the Mac has often felt like a leap of faith. Apple’s native Dictation and Voice Control offer a path to speech-to-text, but accuracy issues, sluggish input, and awkward editing frequently interrupt productivity. Aqua Voice, a third-party, AI-powered dictation tool, aims to redress these shortcomings—and largely succeeds. How Aqua Voice elevates Mac Dictation Aqua Voice presents as a floating text box on your desktop. Trigger dictation using a pre-configured keystroke, speak, and see live transcribed text. When you’re satisfied, another keypress pastes the text into any application—whether that’s Mail, Notes, Slack, Word, or iMessage. At first glance, it’s remarkably straightforward. But under the hood, Aqua Voice runs on advanced AI models that achieve near real-time transcrip...
WWDC 2025: accessibility gains, missed chances, and what Apple still needs to fix
Yesterday’s WWDC 2025 keynote brought Apple’s bold new Liquid Glass design, system-wide renaming (e.g., iOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26), and a big push for on-device Apple Intelligence—available now in eight more languages, and open to developers everywhere . We also saw major updates to iPad multitasking, Spotlight, Xcode 26 with foundation LLM support, and even lighter Game controls thanks to Liquid Glass‘ fresh UI . ✅ Notable accessibility updates Announced via press release last month, Apple quietly introduced a number of genuinely welcome updates available now to try in the betas released after the keynote: Live Captions on Apple Watch: real‑time captioning during calls via Live Listen mic, controlled remotely from the Watch . Voice Control improvements: developers can now use Voice Control...
WWDC 2025: Can Apple finally fix Voice Control?
As WWDC 2025 approaches, rumours swirl about what Apple may unveil: enhanced AI features, a new naming convention for all the operating systems, and a visual glass-like overhaul, including round Home Screen icons. There’s also speculation about improvements to Apple Intelligence—a brand that, despite the hype, hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. But for disabled people like me, all eyes are on something less flashy but far more consequential: Voice Control. Voice Control today: clever, capable—and still flawed Apple’s Voice Control app, first introduced six ago in macOS Catalina, allows hands-free control of a Mac, iPhone, or iPad. It was a game-changer for many disabled people, particularly those with motor impairments who rely on dictation and voice navigation. But its limitations are ...
WWDC 2025: Why Apple Watch still falls short on accessibility
As WWDC 2025 approaches, Apple is widely expected to reveal a significant redesign of watchOS—part of a broader visual refresh inspired by visionOS. This could include rounded icons, translucent UI elements, and a more unified experience across Apple’s platforms. There’s also speculation that Apple will shift its naming scheme to match the calendar year, introducing “watchOS 26” instead of the expected “watchOS 12.” In terms of functionality, reports point to expanded Apple Intelligence features—though a full Siri overhaul may not arrive until later in the year. Battery-conscious AI enhancements, better contextual awareness, and possibly predictive health prompts are anticipated. Hardware-wise, rumours suggest new health tracking capabilities like blood pressure monitoring for Apple Watch ...
WWDC 2025: What disabled people want to see from Apple this year
Apple’s WWDC 2025 keynote is just days away, and expectations are high. This year’s announcements are rumoured to include a dramatic visual overhaul—complete with rounded icons on the Home screen and a more unified interface across macOS and iOS. Apple may also introduce a new naming scheme for its operating systems, and its AI effort, Apple Intelligence, is expected to see improvements after a lukewarm debut last year. But beyond new names and fresh polish, disabled people are asking the same question they do every June: Will this be the year Apple finally fixes the accessibility gaps we live with every day? Despite its deserved reputation as a leader in accessibility and inclusive design, Apple continues to leave significant issues unresolved. As I’ve written in The Register over the pas...
macOS finally lets you record custom vocabulary in Voice Control – but Apple still has work to do
macOS finally lets you record custom vocabulary in Voice Control – but Apple still has work to do Did this really just happen? Tucked away in a recent macOS Sequoia update, Apple has quietly rolled out a long-awaited feature: you can now record custom vocabulary in Voice Control on the Mac. This feature first arrived on iOS in version 18.0 last year — now, at last, macOS has caught up. No fanfare, no splashy announcement. As one prominent Apple influencer told me, “It’s quite crazy Apple didn’t tell us.” But for disabled people who rely on voice-first computing, it’s a big deal. So what’s changed, why does it matter — and where does Apple still fall short? What is custom vocabulary in Voice Control? Voice Control is Apple’s built-in speech recognition system that lets users navigate and di...