One thing that the modern smartphone industry doesn’t have enough of these days is innovation. Several years ago, manufacturers were constantly trying to push the envelope, but perhaps because smartphone tech has reached a certain level of maturity, we don’t see that as much anymore.
That’s why I’m always very excited to hear about things like Honor’s intent-based eye-tracking tech. Eye-tracking tech has been used in smartphones before, but not like this. If it works right, this could actually be far from a gimmick, especially for people living with certain motor disabilities.
Honor’s New Technology Will Let You Interact With Your Smartphone With Your Eyes Alone
Honor has announced its innovative new smartphone tech, intent-based eye-tracking. We’ve seen eye-tracking on smartphones before, so that’s not the new part. Using AI, this tech can determine the likely user intent, improving the accuracy of intended actions.
This kind of feature might seem like a gimmick at first, especially because eye-tracking has been attempted on smartphones before. However, I think it is best looked at as an accessibility feature. That’s where the real value is, as it could assist people with motor disabilities who are unable to control their smartphones with their fingers.
This Feature Has Been Tested By People Living With ALS, With Fantastic Response
In fact, accessibility seems to be exactly how Honor wants this new innovation to be emphasized. Honor has been able to test this feature with people living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), which is a progressive nervous system disease that results in gradually worsening muscle weakness. People living with ALS lose the motor control needed to handle a smartphone.
The #HONORtheChallenger social media campaign has been started to properly emphasize the challenges that people living with ALS face. However, through a short film published on YouTube, BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions has demonstrated how Bernard Muller, a man living with ALS, has been able to use Honor’s technology to live life more independently and even express himself through artwork.
The Feature Will Start Rolling Out Starting August 27th, On Devices Including The Honor Magic 6 Pro
This feature will start rolling out on Honor devices on August 27th, so anyone can try it out. It’s pretty cool that Honor is willing to share such innovative tech with the world.
We know that the brand will be releasing this technology on its Honor Magic 6 Pro smartphones, but they haven’t made it clear which other devices will be getting it. Considering the pill-shaped cutout on the Honor Magic 6 Pro, it might potentially require more hardware than just a selfie camera, which will certainly limit the phone that can support this.
The feature might not change my life, especially in its early stages and on a smartphone, but for many people, it will open a world of possibilities that were previously not accessible.
