Microsoft's Xbox Adaptive Joystick is now available

Microsoft just announced that its Xbox Adaptive Joystick is now available for purchase directly from the company. This news comes during the annual Ability Summit. The Adaptive Joystick is designed for people with limited mobility, so it has four customizable button inputs on the front and two more mappable bumper and trigger-style buttons. It also comes with a standard thumbstick. It costs $30, which is cheaper than the official wireless Xbox controller.

That’s just one accessibility-minded announcement that Microsoft made today. The company is bringing AI tools to the screen-reader Narrator for Windows. This will allow the software to offer “rich image descriptions.” It’ll be available to Windows Insider members sometime this spring.

Microsoft Teams is also getting an update for those who are hard of hearing. The software will soon be able to automatically recognize when someone is using sign language, placing them prominently as a speaker during the meeting. This is what Sign Language View already does, but it’s an opt-in service. The update streamlines the process. It’ll be available later this year.

The company has long been at the forefront of accessibility-related tech. It made a nifty Adaptive Mouse that allows for near-endless customization options. Microsoft also created technology that pairs game controllers without forcing users to touch the console and a kit to make Surface laptops more accessible. The brand first introduced the original Adaptive Controller around six years ago. 

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