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The history of accessible digital and mobile technologies, from mobile phones and tablets to smartwatches and wearables, offers a case study in how such devices have made a significant difference in the lives of people with disabilities and older users. A review of more than 20 years of mobile phone development also demonstrates how the three-pronged approach of policy initiatives, industry efforts, and end-user advocacy resulted in a wide range of accessibility features. These features not only facilitate the use of the device and access to digital content, but more and more, include assistive functions that improve access to the environment as well. In the absence of a comprehensive chronicle of mobile accessibility, we refer to the GARI database, founded in 2008 and since then reporting on accessibility features of mobile phones to facilitate consumer choice. GARI serves as a proxy to analyse how far we have come in making consumer electronics accessible. With this information we can look back and take account of where we are in 2023 and explore how accessible and assistive technologies are becoming closely integrated within the mobile device. The lessons learned, and this lengthy experience provides a framework for the future development of innovative and disruptive technologies to ensure that the progress made is taken forward into a new generation of technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Global Report on Assistive Technology (2023) [1] more than 2.5 billion people require one or more assistive products - a number that is expected to grow to over 3.5 billion by 2050 due to the aging of our societies. Over the past decade, the design of products that empower people with a disability has shifted from specialized and dedicated products designed only for those with a disability to features and functions integrated into cost-effective consumer technologies for the benefit of all. The opportunity to expand the availability of such technologies is at risk of being ignored due to models of AT delivery that are founded in medical devices, and which have failed to reflect trends in our understanding of technology and the choices and preferences expressed by persons with a disability. This research suggests that such expansion offers significant benefits to people with a disability and better both economic and social return on investment for authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]