The best accessible design from 2023

Every year, the news cycle inevitably picks up a story about the latest tech innovation promising an accessibility solution through its design. And while that latest product might be big on style, it often also comes with a hefty price tag, putting the technology out of reach for the majority of its intended users. Take the Cionic Neural Sleeve, an AI-powered wearable device that uses custom algorithms to deliver electrical stimulation to leg muscles to improve stability and endurance for users with mobility limitations like MS or cerebral palsy.

Even though Cionic’s Neural Sleeve is FDA approved, because technology like FES (functional electrical stimulation) is still considered experimental most insurance companies won’t provide coverage or reimbursement for the $2,600 device. Instead, the company charges a $200/month/per leg payment plan that users pay off over 12 months, but they’re still locked into an ongoing $120-to-$200 monthly service subscription to maintain updates and customer support. 

In general, assistive technology costs more than general consumer tech products. According to the National Institute on Disability, households with a disabled family member need an average of 28% higher income (equivalent to an extra $17,690 annually for a median-income household) to maintain an equivalent quality of life compared to a similar household lacking a member with a disability. So for this roundup of the most promising assistive-tech innovations from 2023, we focused on products that are more financially accessible, as well as general consumer tech innovations that may offer accessibility solutions for people with disabilities even if they’re not technically assistive devices. 

Giphy helped to further democratize internet culture by partnering with digital accessibility provider Scribely to write expressive alt-text descriptions for its most frequently shared GIFs. Rather than relying on AI to generate the content, Scribely enlisted a team of about 15 writers well-versed in accessibility, pop culture, and creative writing to add alt-text to more than 10,000 GIFs in the first phase of the initiative. While opting for human-generated descriptions that might take longer to scale, the nuances of describing memes or humor in general cannot be replicated by a bot. Giphy and Scribely also plan to run a pilot program to integrate descriptive text within a GIF’s metadata, enabling it to accompany the file across various platforms such as Microsoft, Google, and Apple workplace software.  

AR glasses have been in development for a while, but with advancements in speech-recognition technology and better battery life, live-captioning glasses have started to become more commercially available. They may look like your standard Ray-Bans, but they actually provide subtitles for conversations on a transparent display in the wearer’s field of vision, making it easier for people with moderate hearing loss to understand and better communicate with those around them. Several different startups have released beta versions or are accepting preorders of this type of assistive tech, but the most promising model we’ve seen is TranscribeGlass. Cofounder Tom Pritsky has lived with hearing loss in both ears since the age of three and has relied on hearing aids and lip reading for communication, so he has an intimate understanding of the problem his product is trying to solve. And unlike its competitor Xrai whose glasses retail for $399 and require external hardware and a UCB-C connection to your phone, TranscribeGlass uses bluetooth and is sold for $55 as a beta version, with the final version expected to retail for $95.

“Hearables” is a buzzword that’s been gaining traction in the assistive-technology space. They combine convenience and style of general consumer-grade earbuds with the functionality and affordability of OTC hearing aids for mild-to-moderate hearing loss. The hearables market expanded in late 2022 after the FDA made some hearing aids available over the counter. This opened up a wider range of affordable options for people, as most insurance companies do not cover hearing aids, which can run between $2,000 and $4,000 per pair. One of the standouts in the hearables space this year was CES Innovation Awards honoree, Jabra Enhance Plus. The Enhace Plus is a self-fitting 3-in-1 earbud solution for hearing enhancement, music, and hands-free calls, and they’re available over the counter. They’re also FSA and HSA eligible, and are currently on sale for $499. Samsung also has released an affordable hearables option—the Galaxy Buds2 Pro. Accessibility features include the newly enhanced ambient sound feature, as well as Intelligent Active Noise Cancellation, and Intelligent Conversation Mode. A pair will run $169, and is customizable with the Galaxy wearable app. 

Playstation’s highly anticipated Access Controller finally launched in early December, and is a great step forward in providing more flexibility for how players with disabilities can game. The controller functions like a versatile kit of parts that allows players to customize their gaming setup based on their unique access needs. While the Access Controller is not going to work for everyone, Playstation’s novel design approach will remove significant barriers to gaming for many people with disabilities. Since the Access Controller has only one joystick and 8 buttons versus the standard 2 joysticks and 16 buttons, we recommend purchasing one Access Controller and using it in tandem with the standard Dual Sense controller before springing for a second Access Controller, as Playstation found that in testing, most users preferred a hybrid setup of the two different controllers combined. The Access Controller retails for $89.99. Check out our review here.  

While the TourBox Elite isn’t specifically designed to be used as assistive technology, this is one of those instances where the design has the potential to offer a more comfortable and accessible user experience for disabled persons, especially for those working in creative fields including photo- and video editing or digital painting and illustration. The main selling point of this little controller is that you hardly have to move your hand at all to initiate a number of commands. For people with mobility limitations in their arms or hands, a standard computer mouse isn’t always accessible or comfortable to use. The TourBox’s ergonomic design and customizable shortcuts and mouse actions can cut down on fatigue and reduce repetitive movements that typically cause hand and wrist strain. Plus, the haptic feedback allows for a tactile user experience that reduces your need to look down at your keyboard, which can help to create a smoother workflow overall. The TourBox Elite retails for $214; or if you don’t mind a cabled version, you can pick up the TourBox Neo for $135.