As much as we all love the level of accessibility that is available 'out of the box' with an iDevice, we probably all feel a sense of apprehension when a new update to iOS is released. We click the 'Update' button, silently hoping that accessibility problems from the previous version will have been fixed and that no major new problems will be introduced.
Advocacy
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Update 2 February: Although not specifically mentioned in the release notes, it’s great to see that version 3.0.1 addresses many of the issues mentioned in the original post below. For example, the Share button is now accessible and you can add topics of interest to your custom feed (although you currently need to use a combination of the 3-finger swipe up/down and exploring by touch to access all available topics, as swiping is not reliable).
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It was more than thirty years ago. My professional feelings were hurt. I had worked very hard for a long time and I was being passed over on something that felt important to me. The more I thought about it, the more it just didn't sit right. I trudged up the hill to my boss's office. No one had been nasty to me. No one had tampered with my budget, and no one had cut my salary. I walked in and shut the door. My boss could tell I was not a happy camper. He asked me what was the matter. I started my long-winded whine.
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Update 29 October 2019: the macOS 10.15.1 release appears to have resolved the problem of not being able to interact with the preference windows of Catalyst apps when running VoiceOver.
In my early tests I have been able to access and configure settings in all three Catalyst apps which previously exhibited the problematic behaviour described in the post below.
It's great news that Apple appears to be making changes to the underlying app conversion process that should address some accessibility issues without developers needing to do anything.
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Google recently announced that it will shutdown its popular RSS aggregation service, Google Reader, on July 1. If the tech pundits are to be believed, the early frontrunner to be many people's replacement RSS service is Feedly.
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We are pleased to announce the launch of the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame, where we will be acknowledging and celebrating the apps that exemplify all that is great about owning an iDevice.
Our goal for the Hall of Fame is to showcase the passion and hard work that app developers put into creating great apps that are fully accessible to VoiceOver users. These apps place powerful tools into the palms of our hands, and give access to services, information, media and entertainment that the sighted world takes for granted.
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Apple will publicly release iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 on Monday, September 18, 2023. This post contains a summary of new bugs impacting VoiceOver, Braille support, and low vision features that we have identified during testing of these upcoming releases. We have also included details on previously reported bugs that appear to be fixed in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 based on our testing.
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We know some of you have been waiting for quite some time for iOS 6.1 to arrive in your hands. That day has finally arrived!
As with any iOS release, we just can't wait to see what new things it has to offer, but mostly to see what has been fixed! As with any release it may not always fix everything you wish it would do and sometimes create new things that weren't expected!
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Apple has received much praise since accessibility became an integral element of iOS. Much has certainly been said and written on how this has been a life-changer for so many people, and that it has opened up a world of possibilities.
These are sentiments that it's hard to disagree with.
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Back in March when I took a stab at comparing iOS and Android from the perspective of a blind user, Android 4.1 (a.k.a. Jelly Bean) was nonexistent and no one knew what access features it would offer. Having tested Google Nexus 7 for more than two weeks and having seen blind users' opinions of Android 4.1, I'm now in a better position to compare iOS and Android yet again.
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I flick around the screen, double-tapping when I want to select something. As I do so, VoiceOver's speech comes through my Aftershokz headset, which I wear most of the time. That makes me a cyborg, or so I'm told. Nothing is showing on my screen. "Is your phone on?" One of the students on my course at university once asked me, as I called a taxi.
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The Kindle app for iOS devices is not usable with VoiceOver. We believe that it is time for Amazon to stop excluding blind iOS users from their Kindle Book Store, so hope that you will support our Campaign for fair and equal access by lobbying them to make the app accessible. Not only would this be a good commercial decision for Amazon, but it is simply the 'right' thing for them to do and arguably something they have a legal requirement to do. As consumers, it would also provide us with some much-needed competition and choice when shopping for eBooks.
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Introduction
This post will offer you an account of my experience with conducting the job search on iOS. I will begin with a little information concerning the pre-requisites to beginning the job search, and the changing trends regarding how businesses advertise vacant positions.
The current post will then consider the 3 primary iOS applications which I used during my job search, and I will also inform you as to the services offered by recruitment agencies and the possibility of other iOS applications specific to your location.
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Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), and to mark this we are urging everybody to use it as an opportunity to reach out to iOS and OS X developers - to either encourage them to make their applications accessible and usable by the vision-impaired; or to show your appreciation for applications which already are.
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At the end of each month, members of the AppleVis Editorial Team take a look at all the apps that have been posted to the site during that month--either for the first time, or where there has been a significant update--and decide which of these they think is the most noteworthy.
The AppleVis Editorial Team app picks of the month for October 2014 are as follows:
1. KNFBReader
Updated to version 1.2 (version 1.3 released 11/2/2014); October, 2014.
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I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new feature on the AppleVis site, our Campaign of the Month.
Each month we will select an app that currently has accessibility issues, and ask you all to contact its developers and encourage them to improve VoiceOver support.
To make this easy, we've created a handy little form that will do most of the work for you. The form even includes a draft message that you can either use as it is, or edit to your own liking.
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Sometimes, I suffer from a serious case of the "Stupids." When I was 16, the year when NASA engineers were preparing a lunar rover for the next moon landing, I had enough remaining vision to legally obtain my own Texas Drivers License. Although I knew I was going blind and could no longer see at night, my day vision was still reasonably intact. There were some caveats. Seeing clearly in shadows cast by buildings and trees might prove problematic. Getting stuck in traffic at dusk could be dangerous.
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The ChatGPT app has found a place in my iPhone's dock. I use it for many things, both serious and fun. Part of me is convinced that it's going to turn into Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. There it is, brain the size of a planet, and I'm constantly asking it to answer very simple or repetitive queries. Yet, it always remains eager to assist with any question.
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The app chosen this month for induction into our iOS App Hall of Fame is Light Detector.
Gaining double the number of votes of its nearest challenger, this would seem to be a very popular choice among the AppleVis community.
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A little background
It's not often that I find the privilege of blogging about an application which is not only feature-rich and revolutionary in its feature set, but takes accessibility to an entirely new level. Of course, if you ask David Goodwin, the awesome guy behind AppleVis, he'll tell you that my inspiration for blogging has subsided recently despite what creative app developers are doing... David, do you hear me?! :)